Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $58.91 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 420,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,041 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $58,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 42.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 32,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,681 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $292,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after buying an additional 6,186 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its stake in Paychex by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $150.04 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $143.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

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.