Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $3.87 Million in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,613 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,872,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,230,236 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,775,365,000 after buying an additional 60,455 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,278,142,000 after purchasing an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,072 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,262,700,000 after buying an additional 190,937 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Paychex by 46.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in Paychex by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $231,295,000 after buying an additional 82,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.1 %

PAYX traded up $1.68 during trading on Thursday, hitting $148.63. 1,252,228 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,778,077. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.15 and a 200 day moving average of $138.62. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex's quarterly 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 year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of 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 reiterated 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 upped their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.23.

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.