Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Increased by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,140 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing 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.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,419,878,000 after buying an additional 174,817 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,772,544,000 after buying an additional 166,155 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,408,458,000 after buying an additional 519,761 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,339,463,000 after buying an additional 126,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $157.66. 1,993,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,914,950. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.61 and a 200 day moving average of $146.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $159.75.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.