Essential Planning LLC. Invests $2.07 Million in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,066,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $145.01 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $146.84 and a 200-day moving average of $141.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

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.