Amundi Purchases 672,010 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Amundi raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 77.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 672,010 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Paychex were worth $215,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $153.48 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $154.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.33 and its 200 day moving average is $141.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Paychex Company 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.