Berkshire Bank Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Berkshire Bank raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 91,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,883,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 17,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 65,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,172,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $148.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.43.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date 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.