Access Financial Services Inc. Acquires 950 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Access Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Paychex by 8.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,849,000 after buying an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,599,000 after buying an additional 62,739 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,975,000 after buying an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 102,768.9% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after buying an additional 4,533,137 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $122.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.95 and a 200-day moving average of $119.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 79.11%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target (down from $132.00) on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.77.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.