Dearborn Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Dearborn Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $2,438,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,874,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,421 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.83. The company has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective 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 given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

Paychex 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.