Heritage Trust Co Acquires New Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 91.1% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,055,000 after buying an additional 27,296 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,783 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,405,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,702 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.12 and its 200-day moving average is $144.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

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.