Graypoint LLC Acquires 100 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Paychex by 152.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8 %

PAYX stock opened at $139.06 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

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.