Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Makes New $448,000 Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $121.79. 1,070,110 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,786,053. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $121.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. 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 3.22%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set 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 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.