JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 530,873 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 36.9% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 1.97 million shares valued at $303.7 million.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for Paychex stock, with an average price target of $150.20.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 36.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,968,564 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 530,873 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.55% of Paychex worth $303,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Paychex by 118.5% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,117,000 after acquiring an additional 74,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,404,000 after acquiring an additional 29,320 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management boosted its position in Paychex by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,269 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.70.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6%

PAYX traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.25. 2,671,372 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $145.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.64 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the 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 corporate 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.