Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Boosted by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 711,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,088 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Paychex worth $99,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 44,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,338,000 after purchasing an additional 6,459 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Bradyco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 104,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,625,000 after acquiring an additional 13,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $153.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $154.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.54. The company has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.