Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $720,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Paychex by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 11,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 4,234.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 7,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Paychex by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 133,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,699 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $148.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.28. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

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.