Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 117.6% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 1,217,092 shares valued at approximately $187.5 million.
• Insider transactions include Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares and CEO John B. Gibson selling 12,370 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership by 17.91% and 13.14% respectively.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target for Paychex at $150.20, with varying ratings from several firms, suggesting a cautious outlook on the stock.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 117.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 657,871 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 0.34% of Paychex worth $187,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 raised its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% in 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 buying an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 25.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,844,949 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,919,000 after buying an additional 581,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 company's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.25. 2,671,372 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $49.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $145.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.16. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.64 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.70.

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.