Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 470,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,631 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $52,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in shares of Paychex by 114.4% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 13,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 7,101 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Paychex by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 87,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,805,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $257,699,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $96.98 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.74. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average 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.