Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,764 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA grew its position in shares of Paychex by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 28,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,576,000 after buying an additional 10,726 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $1,877,000. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 240,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,494,000 after purchasing an additional 41,114 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,750,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,583,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 99,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,626,000 after purchasing an additional 19,185 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $100.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 104.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Argus raised shares of Paychex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $106.38.

About Paychex

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.