State Street Corp Has $1.78 Billion Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

State Street Corp raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,230,236 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 60,455 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 3.68% of Paychex worth $1,775,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, American National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,243,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,102. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $142.45 and its 200 day moving average is $131.43.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.