Swiss National Bank Has $121.09 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,016,600 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 27,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Paychex worth $121,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.10. 1,540,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 77.56%.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.