Baillie Gifford & Co. Invests $25.43 Million in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 181,359 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,430,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.05% of Paychex at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $148.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,674,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,725,658. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $151.72. 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 has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $144.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.60.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex 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.