Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Kathmere Capital Management LLC

Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $679,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 49.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,328,000 after acquiring an additional 51,085 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.9% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $279,351,000 after purchasing an additional 384,184 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,193,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.27 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.40 and its 200-day moving average is $134.84. The stock has a market cap of $51.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the 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.