Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by MSH Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• MSH Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 12% in the first quarter, holding 18,489 shares valued at approximately $2.85 million.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, marking a yield of 3.2% and reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 94.53%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $150.20 for Paychex, with the majority rating it as a "Hold".

MSH Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,489 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after acquiring an additional 286,818 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,772,544,000 after acquiring an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $637,993,000 after acquiring an additional 30,670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,671,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.64 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $49.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.29 and a 200-day moving average of $148.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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