Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 4.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 11.3% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 18.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 130,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,573,000 after acquiring an additional 20,361 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two 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 a consensus price target of $133.23.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $145.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $147.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.