Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Has $96.37 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management boosted its Paychex stake by 32% in the fourth quarter, ending with 859,079 shares valued at about $96.37 million.
• Paychex reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.71 and revenue of $1.81 billion, both ahead of analyst forecasts; revenue rose 19.9% year over year.
• The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.19 per share, up from $1.08 previously, for an annualized yield of about 5.1%.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 859,079 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 208,077 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.24% of Paychex worth $96,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $117,809,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $75,921,000. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.9% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 4,051,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $589,319,000 after buying an additional 557,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 38.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,856,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $235,286,000 after buying an additional 511,728 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $93.93 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.45 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

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

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 95.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Paychex to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research 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 issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $106.38.

Paychex Company 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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