Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $184,216,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 30,382.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,758,000 after buying an additional 566,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $151.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.40. The company has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

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.