MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 114.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,101 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. ABC Arbitrage SA raised its position in Paychex by 61.4% in the third quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,726 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 20.6% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,494,000 after acquiring an additional 41,114 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares during the period. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 23.9% in the third quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,626,000 after acquiring an additional 19,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.
Paychex Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $100.79 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.68. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 104.85%.
Paychex 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.
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