Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Holdings Boosted by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,091 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 4.3% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Paychex were worth $231,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third 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. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 805.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.27 and a 200 day moving average of $135.31.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex 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.