BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Acquires 40,712 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,712 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $49,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 38,655.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after purchasing an additional 797,843 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $205,877,000 after purchasing an additional 395,343 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Paychex by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $279,351,000 after purchasing an additional 384,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.6 %

PAYX opened at $144.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.75. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.