557,800 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 557,800 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $78,215,000. Norges Bank owned 0.15% of Paychex at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,182,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 5,153 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 329,080 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,159,000 after purchasing an additional 20,064 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 2.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,055,000 after purchasing an additional 27,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

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Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $10.21 on Friday, reaching $143.32. The stock had a trading volume of 3,049,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,809. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.91.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on 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 price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.00.

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.