Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $2.87 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $147.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.60 and its 200 day moving average is $142.53. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

About Paychex

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.