Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Bought by William Allan Corp

William Allan Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,703 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 2.7% of William Allan Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $99.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.07. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $154.90.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.63.

Paychex Company 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.