Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,455,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,467 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $275,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of PAYX opened at $94.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.45 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid 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 is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. 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 on the stock in a report 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 issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Company 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.