Ghe LLC Has $2.87 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ghe LLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up approximately 1.1% of Ghe LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Monument Capital Management boosted its position in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 1.2 %

PAYX opened at $148.51 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.72. 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 company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $144.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.81.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’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. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.