Ghe LLC Has $2.87 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ghe LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 1.1% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $148.51 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Paychex 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.