Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $7.47 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $147.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.31 and its 200 day moving average is $136.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. 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) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

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.