Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its shareholding in Paychex, Inc. by 9.3%, now owning approximately 472,408 shares valued at $72.88 million.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.1%, expected to be paid on August 29.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Paychex, with a current average target price of $150.70.

National Pension Service increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 472,408 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 40,295 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.13% of Paychex worth $72,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 30,374 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,259,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 38,319 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. 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. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.70.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.8%

Paychex stock opened at $137.49 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $145.72 and its 200-day moving average is $148.16. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.64 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91.

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 (EPS) 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 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 firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

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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