Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Increased by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 103.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,834 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Paychex by 27.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 169.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 4,799 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Paychex by 2.3% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Paychex by 6.2% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 70,347 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,440,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Paychex Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.25. 1,052,382 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,753,886. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $53.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.