Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Monument Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.3 %

Paychex stock opened at $145.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.09. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $158.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target 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 reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.