Grandfield & Dodd LLC Has $53.63 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 382,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 3.3% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Paychex worth $53,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $151.67 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.71. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 4.10 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 $151.86.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.