Palmer Knight Co Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Palmer Knight Co raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 4.0% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Paychex by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 169.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 91.1% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.45 and a 200 day moving average of $136.86. The company has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick 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.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently 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.