Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $121.19. The stock had a trading volume of 875,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,824. The company has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG 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. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $121.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

About Paychex

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.