Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 174,817 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Paychex worth $4,419,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 91.1% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,055,000 after purchasing an additional 27,296 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted 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, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.89. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

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.