First Merchants Corp Purchases Shares of 2,003 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First Merchants Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,003 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after acquiring an additional 174,817 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after acquiring an additional 166,155 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after acquiring an additional 519,761 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,339,463,000 after acquiring an additional 126,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

PAYX opened at $143.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average is $151.73 and its 200 day moving average is $147.76.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently 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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