Absher Wealth Management LLC Purchases 119,472 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Absher Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4,080.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119,472 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 2.2% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Paychex by 27.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after buying an additional 212,700 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 169.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 91.1% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

Paychex stock opened at $150.87 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $142.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $151.01. The firm has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.