Novem Group Acquires 5,125 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Novem Group significantly increased its holdings in Paychex, purchasing 5,125 additional shares during the second quarter, raising its total ownership to 9,384 shares valued at approximately $1.365 million.
• Institutional investors own 83.47% of Paychex's stock, with notable increases in holdings by Select Equity Group and GAMMA Investing LLC during the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a trend of lowered price targets for Paychex, with the average consensus price target now at $146.50 as ten analysts have labeled the stock with a "Hold" rating.

Novem Group grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 120.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,384 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,125 shares during the quarter. Novem Group's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 99.0% in the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 3,494,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $539,102,000 after buying an additional 1,738,372 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,419 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,663,474,000 after purchasing an additional 737,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $187,512,000 after buying an additional 657,871 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Paychex from $160.00 to $143.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $146.50.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $126.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $137.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.22. 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 $126.13 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.