Avestar Capital LLC Buys 166 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Paychex by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $433,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,609,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $147.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.83. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 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 (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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