Vantage Investment Partners LLC Has $11.91 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,307 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Moment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens reduced their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $97.00 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.47.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.