Trilogy Capital Inc. Purchases 5,761 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 39.4%, now owning 20,384 shares valued at approximately $3.14 million after purchasing an additional 5,761 shares.
• Insider transactions include CEO John B. Gibson selling 12,370 shares and Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares, resulting in significant decreases in their ownership percentages.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with shares trading at around $146.40, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.95%.

Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 39.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,384 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,761 shares during the quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Paychex by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,215,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Paychex by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,519,430 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,054,000 after buying an additional 460,295 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.19. The company had a trading volume of 524,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,602. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.07 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $150.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

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.