Gallacher Capital Management LLC Has $732,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $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.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

PAYX traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,540,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.42. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Bank of America raised their price objective 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 reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.