PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 679,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Paychex worth $80,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Paychex by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,520 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 337.3% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,544,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,162,000 after buying an additional 1,191,539 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 229.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,655,000 after buying an additional 1,136,456 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $115,494,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,386,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,141,000 after buying an additional 766,252 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $122.58. 1,975,870 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,824. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.89. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 85.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.