Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Avion Wealth boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $150.19 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $158.37. The company has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.50.

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.