Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Stake Lifted by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 373,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,422 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $41,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Paychex by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,395,583,000 after buying an additional 11,243,295 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 4,141.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,409,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $270,267,000 after buying an additional 2,352,423 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $257,699,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $117,809,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

PAYX opened at $100.90 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $154.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.13 and a 200-day moving average of $99.93. 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 capitalization of $36.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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 reduced their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.19.

About Paychex

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.