Caledonia Investments PLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Caledonia Investments PLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 133,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,919,000. Paychex comprises about 1.7% of Caledonia Investments PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 6.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,384,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,820,000 after acquiring an additional 249,550 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position 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 worth $589,319,000 after acquiring an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Paychex by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,650,000 after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $108.81.

Paychex Price Performance

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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.35 and a 200-day moving average of $109.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

About Paychex

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.