GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.6 %

PAYX stock opened at $150.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The stock 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.93 and a 200 day moving average of $137.80.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Company Profile

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.