Ethos Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered 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, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $121.30. 1,460,021 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,772,315. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The firm has a market cap of $43.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.40%.

Paychex 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.