Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft significantly increased its stake in Paychex, acquiring 4,852 shares, bringing its total to 6,352 shares valued at approximately $979,000.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $4.32 with a yield of 2.96%.
• In its latest earnings report, Paychex reported an EPS of $1.19, meeting the consensus estimate, and a revenue of $1.43 billion, surpassing expectations.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 323.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,352 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,852 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in Paychex were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $4.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $139.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,235,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,015,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.60. The stock has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.07 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex 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.