Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,339,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Monument Capital Management increased its stake in Paychex by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $154.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $158.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.65.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.83.

Paychex 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.