AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 15,221 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,574 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,221 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $34,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,627,000 after acquiring an additional 552,540 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $593,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Paychex by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 21.1% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 9,569 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 2.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 997,930 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $142,055,000 after buying an additional 27,296 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $152.42. 320,451 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,920,903. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $147.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 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 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.