Atria Investments Inc Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 61,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,708 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 2,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 7,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 89,445 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,034,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 15,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,714,000 after buying an additional 2,369 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $91.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.23 and its 200 day moving average is $102.34. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Profile

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.