North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Purchases New Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westerkirk Capital Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 9,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 364,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,919,000 after purchasing an additional 7,538 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its position in Paychex by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 80,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,013,000 after acquiring an additional 3,003 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in Paychex by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 334,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,576,000 after acquiring an additional 155,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $100.28 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.21. 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 cap of $35.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $157.51.

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 firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.63.

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.