AJOVista LLC Takes $194,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rogco LP grew its position in Paychex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dohj LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.10. 1,540,545 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 77.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

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.