UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Avion Wealth lifted its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $151.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.23. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 81.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.58.

Paychex Company 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.