Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $7.47 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $147.48 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $53.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $142.31 and a 200-day moving average of $136.65. 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 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 return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.