Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Somerset Trust Co

Somerset Trust Co boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 1.7% of Somerset Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 805.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $142.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.