4,729 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Bought by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $152.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.49. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The company has a market cap of $54.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.