Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by BSW Wealth Partners

BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 29.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Paychex were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank lifted its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 91,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 17,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $146.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.45 and a 200-day moving average of $136.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently 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.