Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 345,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 39,153 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Paychex were worth $38,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $589,319,000 after buying an additional 557,101 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,650,000 after buying an additional 31,321 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,280,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,908,000 after buying an additional 17,869 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,979,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,900,000 after buying an additional 30,117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $90.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $32.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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.