Bender Robert & Associates Purchases New Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bender Robert & Associates purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $146.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.95. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

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.