Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,252,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 98,881 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 4.3% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Paychex worth $175,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. State Street Corp increased its position in Paychex by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,230,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,775,365,000 after buying an additional 60,455 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,142,000 after purchasing an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,414,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,262,700,000 after purchasing an additional 190,937 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 46.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,627,000 after purchasing an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $231,295,000 after buying an additional 82,091 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.29 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.