GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 68,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,564,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $184,216,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $215,164,000 after purchasing an additional 672,010 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,746,000 after purchasing an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 30,382.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,758,000 after purchasing an additional 566,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $156.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $56.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $148.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.27. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

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.