Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stock Holdings Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 364,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,538 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.10% of Paychex worth $40,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Paychex by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,093,958,000 after purchasing an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after purchasing an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,650,000 after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $101.10 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $155.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $36.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $93.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.16.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.19 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.63.

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.