Summit Global Investments Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 2.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $516,858,000 after buying an additional 246,791 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings 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 valued at $415,022,000 after buying an additional 182,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,441,000 after acquiring an additional 554,968 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

PAYX stock opened at $120.63 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

Paychex announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Paychex 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.