Capital Research Global Investors Grows Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,917,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 398,376 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Paychex were worth $215,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.63.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $98.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.45 and a 1-year high of $159.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.85%.

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.