Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,462 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,228 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 47,316 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,007 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,632 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $146.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,377,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,860. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $151.72. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $143.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $52.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm 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 company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.

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.