Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 117.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $143.02 on Monday. 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 twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.78. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price 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 assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

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.