Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Somerset Trust Co

Somerset Trust Co lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.7% of Somerset Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 49.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 51,085 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $239,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Paychex by 1.5% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 52,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,206,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.0% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Paychex Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.29 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.32 and a 200-day moving average of $134.98. 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 $150.71. The company has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 82.53%.

About Paychex

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.