Tang Capital Management LLC Makes New $978,000 Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Tang Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,973 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Monument Capital Management increased its position in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.04. The stock had a trading volume of 285,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,037,849. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.18 and a 200 day moving average of $146.16. The company has a market cap of $56.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.