MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 288,890 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,656 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.08% of Paychex worth $40,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its stake in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $155.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,415,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,545. 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 twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The firm has a market cap of $56.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $147.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.68.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex 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 sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Company 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.