12,900 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Bought by Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,809,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $184,216,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Paychex by 16.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after purchasing an additional 672,010 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Paychex by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,746,000 after purchasing an additional 628,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 30,382.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,758,000 after purchasing an additional 566,943 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Paychex Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $156.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.25.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company 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.