Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,803 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $37,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $184,216,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 30,382.8% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $78,215,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $140.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $148.73 and its 200 day moving average is $144.05. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued 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 2.79%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex Company 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.