Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $143.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

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.