Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 117.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,057 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,548 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,099,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,224 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 729,233 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $97,856,000 after buying an additional 146,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 359,846 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,288,000 after buying an additional 4,606 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.35 on Tuesday, reaching $144.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,117,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,556. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.86 and a 200 day moving average of $142.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.