Entropy Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 6,596 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 13.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Paychex by 72.7% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.3% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research 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, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $147.01 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $143.02 and its 200 day moving average is $138.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

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.