Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,123 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $33,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,216,000. Amundi raised its stake in Paychex by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after purchasing an additional 672,010 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 30,382.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,758,000 after purchasing an additional 566,943 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $78,215,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $151.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $148.22 and a 200 day moving average of $143.37. The firm has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.58.

Paychex Profile

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.