Xponance Inc. Buys 3,018 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,149 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $2.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $143.02. 4,764,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,337. 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 $51.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $147.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.71.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

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.