National Pension Service Has $73.80 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 619,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,932 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Paychex worth $73,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $448,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.55 on Thursday, reaching $120.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 352,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,761. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.40 and a 200-day moving average of $120.48. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

About Paychex

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.