Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,853 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,241,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management grew its position in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded down $2.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.02. 4,764,511 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,337. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.71. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $158.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

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.