1,808 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by Everpar Advisors LLC

Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $121.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.48. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The firm has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 85.40%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.