Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 44.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 206,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,203 shares during the period. Paychex comprises approximately 2.4% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $23,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Paychex by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.
Paychex Stock Performance
Paychex stock opened at $97.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.37. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.
Paychex Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.
About Paychex
Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.
Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.
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