Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 221.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.81.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $91.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.50. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.89 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.15%.

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.