Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,764 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $100.53 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.85%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.