Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $154.28 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.83.

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.