Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Modera Wealth Management LLC

Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $153.37 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $154.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company 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 target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.