Toronto Dominion Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,140 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Paychex were worth $16,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $156.09. 1,085,442 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,926,113. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Paychex Profile

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.