Albert D Mason Inc. Purchases 228 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up 1.6% of Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $146.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current 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 $150.71. The company has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.98.

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, topping 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

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.