Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 3,547 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,213 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Paychex were worth $15,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

Paychex stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.95. 1,377,683 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,796,860. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.56.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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 boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.