Blair William & Co. IL Has $23.66 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 5% during the 1st quarter, now owning 153,378 shares valued at approximately $23.66 million.
• Paychex has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.1%, which is set to be paid out on August 29th.
• Institutional investors currently own 83.47% of Paychex stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by several firms, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Northern Trust Corp.

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,378 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,092 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Paychex were worth $23,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 20,236.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,419 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,519,430 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,054,000 after purchasing an additional 460,295 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,203,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $139.34 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.07 and a 52-week 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 1.28. The company's fifty day moving average price is $149.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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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