Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Richwood Investment Advisors LLC

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $143.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.71. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.