Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Takes $237,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 679,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,947,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1,688.8% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 178,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,209,000 after acquiring an additional 168,106 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,812,000. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 752.9% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 86,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,246,000 after purchasing an additional 75,937 shares during the period. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in Paychex by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $124.23. 1,354,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,539,131. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.48. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $44.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Paychex

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.