GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Invests $9.56 Million in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 68,209 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,564,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target 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 raised their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $156.99. 1,482,401 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,923,683. The company has a market capitalization of $56.55 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $148.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.39. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $160.01.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. 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. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.