Aviance Capital Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Bradyco Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in Paychex by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 104,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. raised its stake in Paychex by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 2,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $992,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $153.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $154.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.43.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

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.