Baxter Bros Inc. Purchases 609 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Baxter Bros Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 1.8% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after acquiring an additional 178,316 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Paychex by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,858,000 after purchasing an additional 246,791 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Paychex by 5.3% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,022,000 after purchasing an additional 182,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 26.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,441,000 after purchasing an additional 554,968 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,540,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.40. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.