Genus Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Genus Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,326 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,747,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in Paychex by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.02 on Friday, hitting $143.29. 1,910,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,500. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.58 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company's 50-day moving average price is $151.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.22.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm 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 previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

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.