Guinness Asset Management LTD Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,727,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,342 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 3.2% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Paychex were worth $196,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.3% in the third quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the third quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $97.00 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.85%.

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.