Journey Strategic Wealth LLC Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 125.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 169.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $147.67 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

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.