Ellsworth Advisors LLC Acquires 578 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the period. Paychex makes up about 1.4% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective (down previously from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.77.

Paychex Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $122.80. 1,618,308 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,857,267. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 79.11%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.