Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,629 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Paychex were worth $5,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. MilWealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.85 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.95. 1,377,683 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,796,860. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $143.09 and a 200-day moving average of $138.56.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 82.53%.

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.