2,630 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Purchased by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,630 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 117.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,820 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,340,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,241,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $144.31. 2,416,049 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,173,793. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $151.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.26. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.58 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.