5,676 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Purchased by Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV

Lighthouse Financial Services Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 3,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its position in shares of Paychex by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 50,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,685,000 after acquiring an additional 6,854 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 9,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $93.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $92.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.62. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.15%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.