11,065 Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Acquired by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Down 0.0%

PAYX stock opened at $94.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.81. The company has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.