Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $774,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $774,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth 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 period. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Paychex Stock Down 0.3 %

PAYX stock opened at $125.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $122.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.08.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Profile

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.