Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Position Raised by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,358 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,574 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.23.

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Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $6.06 on Wednesday, hitting $150.19. The company had a trading volume of 4,429,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,797,211. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $54.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was 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.