Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 103.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,462 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $147.01 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.26. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.