Allstate Corp Acquires Shares of 9,767 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,767 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.78 on Thursday, hitting $154.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,108,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,879,009. The stock has a market cap of $55.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $148.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.73. 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 $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37.

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Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.83.

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.