Twin Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 22.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,272 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the third quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Moment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the third quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $94.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.66. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.