Natixis Invests $538,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Natixis purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,837 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 89,887 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 21,054 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Paychex by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 329,635 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,221,000 after buying an additional 53,302 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in Paychex by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 158,823 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,270,000 after buying an additional 31,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,519,430 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,054,000 after acquiring an additional 460,295 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.5 %

PAYX traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $147.12. 2,500,063 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,812. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $147.24 and its 200-day moving average is $144.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $52.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex 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.