Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $24,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $146.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $142.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.16. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $52.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

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.