National Bank of Canada FI Grows Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,071 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of Paychex worth $38,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Monument Capital Management raised its position in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $154.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $158.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $148.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.83.

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.