Wealth Alliance Acquires 115 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $150.26 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $151.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $54.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.96 and a 200-day moving average of $139.43.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.