Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases New Shares in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 49,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,601,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after buying an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,093,958,000 after buying an additional 78,760 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $589,319,000 after buying an additional 557,101 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,805,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $355,650,000 after buying an additional 31,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,455,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $275,451,000 after buying an additional 33,467 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $102.44 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.68. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $1.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 104.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

About Paychex

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.