Eastern Bank Boosts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $580,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 49.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 51,085 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.0% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Paychex by 125.8% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 19,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 10,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 10.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $140.53 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $142.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.67. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research 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, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

About Paychex

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.