Czech National Bank Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,450 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,159 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 805.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.71. 1,729,317 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,867,068. The stock's 50-day moving average is $142.36 and its 200 day moving average is $134.67. The stock has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.