Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 92.1% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 12,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 5,880 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $2,419,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,025,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 26,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after buying an additional 8,119 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 62,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,779,000 after acquiring an additional 13,704 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $146.29 on Friday. 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 $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company Profile

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.