Everpar Advisors LLC Takes $215,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after acquiring an additional 152,818 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $121.19 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.