Atria Investments Inc Buys 13,708 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Atria Investments increased its Paychex stake by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 13,708 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 61,322 shares worth about $6.88 million.
• Paychex beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.71 EPS versus the $1.67 consensus and revenue of $1.81 billion, up 19.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.19 per share and has an approved $1 billion share repurchase program, though analysts remain cautious with a consensus rating of “Reduce.”

Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,322 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,708 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Paychex were worth $6,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $75,921,000. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 511,728 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $91.54 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $92.23 and its 200 day moving average is $102.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Company 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.

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