UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 401,552 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.87% of Paychex worth $438,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its position in Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $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.

Paychex Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $156.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,085,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,923,826. The stock has a market cap of $56.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $158.37. The company's fifty day moving average price is $148.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.27.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.