Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 7,060 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 90.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,060 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 10,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 117,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,163,000 after buying an additional 12,764 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in Paychex by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 4,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its position in Paychex by 25,260.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 20,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after buying an additional 20,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in Paychex by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of PAYX opened at $98.45 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.85 and a 200 day moving average of $100.51. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.45 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $35.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.84. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 104.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 26th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

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.