U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Paychex by 32.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 760,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,709,000 after acquiring an additional 185,712 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 295,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,024,000 after buying an additional 24,082 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 4,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $236,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,540,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.48 and a 200 day moving average of $120.40. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

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.