Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd 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. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $148.51 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.81. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.72. The firm has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, Barclays upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.