Fulton Bank N.A. Makes New $1.27 Million Investment in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake of 11,273 shares in Paychex during Q4, valued at about $1.27 million.
• Paychex's Board authorized a $1.00 billion share repurchase program (up to 2.5% of shares) and the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.08, implying a 4.6% yield with a payout ratio near 98%.
• Analysts have trimmed targets and ratings—multiple firms lowered price targets and the stock has a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" with a consensus target of $121.38.

Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 11,273 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,265,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter worth $302,244,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $117,809,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Paychex by 179.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $156,854,000 after buying an additional 692,533 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Paychex by 29.2% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $369,901,000 after buying an additional 574,337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $121.38.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $93.50 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $33.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.89 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.38%. Paychex's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.96%.

Paychex Profile

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.

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