William Allan Corp Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

William Allan Corp boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,703 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 2.7% of William Allan Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $99.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.07. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $154.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.63.

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.