Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 169.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Paychex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 91.1% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Paychex by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,440,000 after buying an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $146.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.15. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 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 target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

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.