Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 5,800 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Paychex were worth $7,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,241,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,820 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,340,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $2,066,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 122.1% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,032,000 after acquiring an additional 35,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

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Paychex Stock Down 0.7 %

PAYX traded down $1.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,351,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,920. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $158.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $147.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

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.