Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Purchases 63,203 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 44.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 206,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,203 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 2.4% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $23,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,921,000. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Paychex by 15.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after buying an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Paychex by 38.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,286,000 after buying an additional 511,728 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $97.00 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.