Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Lifted by Thomas Story & Son LLC

Key Points

• Thomas Story & Son LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 18.3% in Q1, now holding 13,245 shares valued at approximately $2.04 million.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, resulting in an annualized $4.32 and a yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 94.53%.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $1.19 EPS, meeting expectations, and had revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.38 billion.

Thomas Story & Son LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,245 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Paychex comprises approximately 0.8% of Thomas Story & Son LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Thomas Story & Son LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during 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. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.13 and a 1-year high of $161.24. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. 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 94.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 owned by insiders.

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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