Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 563,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 93,549 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of Paychex worth $67,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,858,000 after purchasing an additional 246,791 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,022,000 after purchasing an additional 182,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,441,000 after buying an additional 554,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $120.10 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Paychex

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.