Zions Bancorporation N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Paychex by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,099,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 23.6% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 52.1% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 10.5% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 76,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,321,000 after purchasing an additional 7,334 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Paychex Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.83 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.89. The stock has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.