CWS Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 783 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.9 %

PAYX stock opened at $149.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.99. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $151.72. 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 cap of $53.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors 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 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company 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 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two 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.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.