Retireful LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,891 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Paychex by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,431 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,381,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,292 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,705,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its position in Paychex by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 12,263 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,720,000 after buying an additional 5,880 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $2,419,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,444 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,025,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,115,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,345. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.98. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. 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 is presently 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.