Rathbones Group PLC Has $22.71 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,457 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,233 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Paychex worth $22,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the second quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 32,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Suncoast Equity Management raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 14,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $91.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.18. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.89 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 95.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $114.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $108.81.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.