Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,534 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings in Paychex were worth $10,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 148.8% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 43,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 133,656 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,000. Maytus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,804,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Paychex by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 288,890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,508,000 after acquiring an additional 6,656 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm'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 value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, 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 is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup increased 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 increased their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $152.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $54.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.49. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

Paychex Company 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.

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