Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Acquires 51,477 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 430,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,477 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Paychex were worth $39,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in Paychex by 105.0% in the first quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $202,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 9.5% during the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $686,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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 reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.07.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $97.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.36. The company has a market cap of $35.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $152.57.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.85%.

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.