Millstone Evans Group LLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 234 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $184,216,000. Amundi lifted its position in Paychex by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 30,382.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,758,000 after buying an additional 566,943 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after acquiring an additional 519,761 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment 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 Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.83 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.