William Allan Corp Has $4.98 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

William Allan Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Paychex makes up 3.1% of William Allan Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Paychex by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 838,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,625,000 after acquiring an additional 6,890 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $3,872,000. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,168,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6 %

PAYX stock opened at $150.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $151.72. The company has a market capitalization of $54.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.