Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,717 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $145.01 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.97. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Paychex 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.