Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Paychex by 14.2%, owning 24,688 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million as per their latest SEC filing.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $4.32 and a yield of 2.95%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.19 per share, matching consensus estimates, with revenue surpassing analyst expectations at $1.43 billion.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,688 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $78,215,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Paychex by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,519,430 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,054,000 after purchasing an additional 460,295 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This 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.

Paychex Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of PAYX traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $145.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,748,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,069,027. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.07 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $52.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $149.75 and its 200 day moving average is $148.59.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Paychex 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.