Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Takes $671,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,785 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $671,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.51. 1,674,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,725,658. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.43.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. 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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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 reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

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.