Amundi Increases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Amundi increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 827,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,566 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Paychex were worth $93,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,565,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,171,334,000 after purchasing an additional 185,683 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,343,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,004,568,000 after purchasing an additional 222,549 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Paychex by 9.7% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,362,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,233,017,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,699 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Paychex by 33.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,443,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,698,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,122,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 8.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,144,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $702,115,000 after buying an additional 379,291 shares during the period. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.06, for a total transaction of $33,095.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 79,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,804,281.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 4.6 %

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PAYX opened at $117.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $117.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.66 and a 12 month high of $141.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 28th. The business services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.06. Paychex had a return on equity of 44.87% and a net margin of 30.38%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.21 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 9th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 8th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price objective on Paychex to $130.00 in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Paychex to $134.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 5th. Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 29th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.42.

Paychex Profile

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Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.