Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 280,034 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 48.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 856,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 280,034 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.24% of Paychex worth $96,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $100.63 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $154.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.07.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Argus upgraded Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.63.

Paychex Profile

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.