Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 208,077 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 859,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 208,077 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $96,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% during the second quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.3% during the third quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.4% during the third quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Paychex to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on 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 given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $93.93 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. 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 $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.62.

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. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.15%.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.