Allworth Financial LP Purchases 1,382 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 91.1% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 151.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 5,872 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $148.40 on Wednesday. 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 $151.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $143.49 and its 200 day moving average is $139.13. The company has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

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.