Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,099,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,068 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 3.6% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned approximately 0.30% of Paychex worth $127,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,982,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,476,595,000 after buying an additional 642,649 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,327,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $148,977,000 after buying an additional 550,306 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Paychex by 224.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 737,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,801,000 after buying an additional 510,432 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,275,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,397,188,000 after buying an additional 411,556 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,144,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $702,115,000 after buying an additional 379,291 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.14% of the company’s stock.
Paychex Stock Up 0.3 %
PAYX traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $108.23. 254,889 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,885,628. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.03. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.66 and a 1-year high of $141.27. The stock has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 29th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.05. Paychex had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 46.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Paychex Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.14%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $116.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Paychex from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $119.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $131.00 to $119.00 in a report on Friday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.79.
Paychex Company Profile
Paychex, Inc engages in the provision of human capital management solutions for payroll, human resources, insurance and retirement for small and medium-sized businesses. Its solutions include payroll services, hiring services, business insurance, time and attendance, employee benefits, finance and payments, human resources services and startup services.