Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys 5,800 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 51,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 151.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 5,872 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 831,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $111,642,000 after buying an additional 12,178 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 156.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 6,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $143.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

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.