Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 3,695 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,101 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,695 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4 %

Paychex stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $146.29. 2,115,501 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,988. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.19. The stock has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

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.