Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Has $2.34 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Monument Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $143.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

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.