Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during 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 period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $147.48 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $53.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company 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 posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.