Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4,234.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,846 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,665 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,230,236 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,775,365,000 after acquiring an additional 60,455 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 345,682 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,072 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,262,700,000 after acquiring an additional 190,937 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $231,295,000 after acquiring an additional 82,091 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded down $1.75 on Friday, hitting $148.51. 1,674,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,725,658. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.96 and a 200-day moving average of $139.43. 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 $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.