GAMMA Investing LLC Has $177.90 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 20,236.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.32% of Paychex worth $177,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Paychex by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 62,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,782,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.55.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $159.31. 958,163 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,910,074. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $159.93. The stock has a market cap of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

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.