China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.37 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 51.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,893 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.02 on Friday, hitting $143.29. 1,910,327 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,979,388. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.43 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.17. The company has a market cap of $51.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.