Carnegie Investment Counsel Has $1.72 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 92.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,263 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,880 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Paychex by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $132,636,000 after buying an additional 212,700 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,557,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 169.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Paychex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $146.29. 2,115,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,988. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.19. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

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.