True North Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

True North Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,224,000. Paychex makes up about 0.8% of True North Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.