Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 4,528 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,528 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $120.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.39. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

Paychex Company 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.