Guinness Asset Management LTD Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,649,758 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 82,091 shares during the period. Paychex comprises 4.3% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned 0.46% of Paychex worth $231,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $146.29. 2,115,501 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,988. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $142.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.43. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 82.53%.

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.