Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,875,661 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,788 shares during the period. Paychex makes up 1.3% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.52% of Paychex worth $263,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Paychex by 46.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,811,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $593,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 62,376 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $143.81. 631,051 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,415. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $51.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $147.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.67.

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

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.