Capital International Investors Purchases 11,243,295 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Capital International Investors lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 59.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 8.43% of Paychex worth $3,395,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $100.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.42.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

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.