Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Has $1.14 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,702 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 47.5% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $1,604,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.6% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $153.48 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $154.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

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.