Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Raised by Alley Investment Management Company LLC

Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,359 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,143 shares during the period. Paychex comprises approximately 2.9% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Alley Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $22,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Monument Capital Management grew its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $151.65. 584,552 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,778,957. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business's 50-day moving average price is $145.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.17. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $154.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 82.53%.

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.