RWC Asset Management LLP Acquires 155,096 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 86.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 334,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 155,096 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 1.8% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. RWC Asset Management LLP owned about 0.09% of Paychex worth $37,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Krane Funds Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in Paychex by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Paychex by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,917,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,139,000 after buying an additional 398,376 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl boosted its holdings in Paychex by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 20,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 408,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,785,000 after acquiring an additional 166,832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $100.53 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.35. 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 company has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently 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.