Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments increased its Paychex stake by 5.5% in Q4, buying 24,336 shares to hold 469,790 shares worth about $52.7 million (roughly 0.13% of the company).
• Paychex beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.71 versus $1.67 and revenue of $1.81 billion (up 19.9% year-over-year), showing strong profitability metrics (ROE 48.52%, net margin 25.84%) and analysts forecast full-year EPS of 4.99.
• The board approved a $1.0 billion share buyback (up to 2.5% of shares), but Wall Street sentiment is mixed-to-negative with a consensus "Reduce" rating and a $106.38 price target after several recent downgrades.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 469,790 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,336 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Paychex worth $52,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in Paychex by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,941 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 15,806 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,481 shares during the period. LBP AM SA grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 40,517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,545,000 after acquiring an additional 22,527 shares during the period. Finally, MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,246 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 2.1%

PAYX opened at $92.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.45 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Paychex to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $106.38.

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.

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