Oak Thistle LLC Purchases Shares of 1,894 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC purchased 1,894 shares of Paychex, Inc. for approximately $292,000, highlighting continued institutional investment interest in the company.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting a 2.92% yield and a payout ratio of 94.53%.
• Research analysts display a cautious outlook on Paychex, with the average price target set at $150.20 and many issuing a "hold" rating.

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,894 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value 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. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% 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 Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.30. 359,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,130,198. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.07 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $150.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.62. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

About Paychex

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.