Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The sale 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.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

PAYX opened at $121.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.96. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

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.