Geode Capital Management LLC Has $1.34 Billion Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.65% of Paychex worth $1,339,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 14.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 13,516 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 57,573 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,426,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,051,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $153.53. 2,623,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,882,420. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $148.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.79.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.83.

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.