National Pension Service grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 539,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,837 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Paychex worth $60,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,921,000. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in Paychex by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after buying an additional 557,101 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Paychex by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,286,000 after buying an additional 511,728 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.
Paychex Stock Performance
Shares of PAYX opened at $96.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.85%.
About Paychex
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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Paychex
- Costco’s Strong Quarter Still Leaves Investors With a Valuation Problem
- These 3 Software Stocks Are Buying Back Shares Hand Over Fist
- Gap Inc. Cuts Sales Outlook After Q1 Miss, Shares Drop 17%
- MongoDB’s AI Advantage Is Starting to Show Up in Results
Receive News & Ratings for Paychex Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Paychex and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
