US Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 9,171 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,092,000. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.1% of US Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,943,000 after acquiring an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after buying an additional 178,316 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Paychex by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $516,858,000 after acquiring an additional 246,791 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Paychex by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,022,000 after acquiring an additional 182,648 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,441,000 after purchasing an additional 554,968 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.40. The company had a trading volume of 339,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.49. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 85.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.