Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Paychex by 805.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $146.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $142.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.