Achmea Investment Management B.V. Boosts Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 32.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,042 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,224 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $25,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,365 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,943 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $357,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Paychex Stock Up 2.2%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.01 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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