Allianz SE Invests $1.61 Million in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,527 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,613,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.5% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,055,000 after purchasing an additional 27,296 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Paychex by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Paychex Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.59 on Thursday, hitting $153.35. The stock had a trading volume of 751,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,018,910. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $148.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Paychex's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.83.

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.