Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 68,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 17.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth about $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $75,921,000. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 15.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after acquiring an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 38.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,286,000 after acquiring an additional 511,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $93.93 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.50 and a 200 day moving average of $103.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.15%.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus raised Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.