National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 29.9% during Q1, owning approximately $54.65 million worth of shares.
• Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex on July 10th, reducing his ownership by 17.91%.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting a 3.1% yield and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 29.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,312 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 81,502 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.10% of Paychex worth $54,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 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 acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex 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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% 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 Stock Performance

PAYX traded down $3.61 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $134.99. 3,123,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,050. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.35 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.40. 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 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 return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Paychex's payout ratio is 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.