Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by HUB Investment Partners LLC

HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $145.23 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $147.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.