Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,459 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,702 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,604,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $153.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $154.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

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.