Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 628,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 173,921 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Paychex worth $70,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $31,000. MMA Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $32,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $94.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.81. The firm has a market cap of $33.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.45 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. 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 will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.19 per share. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 104.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $102.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price 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.