Ingalls & Snyder LLC Invests $351,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,502 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,319 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $433,000. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 4,502 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.53 on Tuesday, hitting $148.78. 423,219 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,709,906. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.