DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Boosts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 499,337 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,751 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.14% of Paychex worth $74,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Paychex by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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 research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.02 on Friday, reaching $143.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,910,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,914. The stock's 50-day moving average is $152.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.16. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.57 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued 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 is currently 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.