Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 91.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Company 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.