Vantage Investment Partners LLC Purchases 8,307 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,307 shares during the quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 530.6% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,069,000 after buying an additional 23,016 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $97.00 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $92.01 and its 200 day moving average is $101.47. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. Paychex’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Paychex Company Profile

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.