Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,455,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,467 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.68% of Paychex worth $275,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of PAYX opened at $94.80 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.45 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.09. The stock has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex 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.