Lincoln National Corp Buys 2,166 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after acquiring an additional 170,453 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after buying an additional 178,316 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,481,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,858,000 after acquiring an additional 246,791 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $415,022,000 after purchasing an additional 182,648 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 26.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,631,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,441,000 after purchasing an additional 554,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $121.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.