Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 39,363 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 39,363 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,520,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.25. 1,052,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,753,886. The stock has a market cap of $53.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 50-day moving average price of $143.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.69. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.