2,765 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Bought by South Plains Financial Inc.

South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,765 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after purchasing an additional 174,817 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after buying an additional 166,155 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after acquiring an additional 519,761 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,339,463,000 after acquiring an additional 126,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $148.92. The stock had a trading volume of 358,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,050. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.15 and a 200 day moving average of $145.07. The company has a market capitalization of $53.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $158.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.