Caledonia Investments PLC Takes Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Caledonia Investments PLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 133,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,919,000. Paychex comprises 1.7% of Caledonia Investments PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $117,809,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Paychex by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,854,000 after purchasing an additional 692,533 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 209.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 838,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,311,000 after purchasing an additional 567,352 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.9%

Paychex stock opened at $91.70 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.89 and a 52 week high of $161.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 95.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.81.

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.