Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Raised by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 401,552 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $438,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $184,216,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after acquiring an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,746,000 after acquiring an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 30,382.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,758,000 after acquiring an additional 566,943 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $157.67 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.80 and a 200-day moving average of $145.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. 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 business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity

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

About Paychex

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.