Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 1.4% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,702 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,604,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $153.48 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $154.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $146.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.64.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated 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 assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

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.