Hamlin Capital Management LLC Buys 19,557 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 1.6%, purchasing an additional 19,557 shares, making it 4.7% of their portfolio.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which represents a 3.1% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 94.53%.
• Paychex reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19 for the last quarter, meeting analyst expectations, and generated revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding estimates of $1.38 billion.

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,271,968 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,557 shares during the period. Paychex comprises about 4.7% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.35% of Paychex worth $196,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business'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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of 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. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Trading Up 2.7%

Paychex stock opened at $138.61 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.48 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.24. The stock has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

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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