West Oak Capital LLC Has $98,000 Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 337.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $98,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.8 %

Paychex stock traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.06. 1,904,011 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,963,052. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.35 and its 200-day moving average is $134.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.