CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 111.5% during Q2, now holding 4,833 shares valued at $703,000.
• A variety of institutional investors have significantly raised their holdings in Paychex, with one firm increasing its stake by 20,236.7%.
• The average analyst rating for Paychex is currently "Reduce," with a consensus target price of $148.20.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 111.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,833 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA's holdings in Paychex were worth $703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,372 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after purchasing an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $187,512,000 after purchasing an additional 657,871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $148.20.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $129.30 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.23 and a 1-year 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $138.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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