Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $12.29 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,651 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,856 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,702 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 92,996 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,479,000 after acquiring an additional 6,431 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 69,450 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,738,000 after acquiring an additional 4,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,720 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's 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 owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded up $1.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.98. 1,415,518 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,928,651. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.59. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $158.37. 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 $56.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.