Vista Investment Partners II LLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 17,386 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,000. Paychex accounts for 1.4% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth grew its position in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $145.01. 2,780,538 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,786,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $158.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day moving average is $141.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

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Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

Paychex 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.