KBC Group NV Acquires 1,644 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Paychex were worth $9,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Paychex by 152.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

Paychex stock opened at $146.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $142.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.86. 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 results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.23.

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.