Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 34.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,524 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,616 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Rogco LP grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dohj LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $121.19. 875,661 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,775,824. 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 cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $121.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.48. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Paychex

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.