Perigon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,266 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 64.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $121.14 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $122.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.16. 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 results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.