MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. Takes $1.16 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,265 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Paychex by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,230,236 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,775,365,000 after purchasing an additional 60,455 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,278,142,000 after acquiring an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,072 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,262,700,000 after acquiring an additional 190,937 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Paychex by 46.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in Paychex by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $231,295,000 after acquiring an additional 82,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $150.26. 1,355,665 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,727,202. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $143.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.