3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,592 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $184,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Paychex by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.94. 3,849,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,103. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.76. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

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.