Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 93,549 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 563,472 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 93,549 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Paychex worth $67,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $1.65 on Friday, hitting $120.10. 1,540,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,709. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $121.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Paychex Company 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.