United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $2.48 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.11 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $52.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $142.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.43. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.