Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Position Reduced by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,038,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,545,198 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $228,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Paychex by 90.3% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 14,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 7,060 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 117,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,163,000 after purchasing an additional 12,764 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in Paychex by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas boosted its holdings in Paychex by 25,260.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 20,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 20,461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $100.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.17 and a 200-day moving average of $100.42. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $85.45 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.