Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 22,500 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 112.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $184,216,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Paychex by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 30,382.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,758,000 after acquiring an additional 566,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $78,215,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Down 6.7 %

Paychex stock opened at $143.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $158.37. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

About Paychex

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.