Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 109.2% in the 1st quarter, owning 230,256 shares worth approximately $35 million by the end of the reporting period.
• Paychex reported $1.19 earnings per share for the latest quarter, meeting consensus estimates, with a return on equity of 45.01% and quarterly revenues of $1.43 billion.
• The company announced a $1.08 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%, with an ex-dividend date set for July 21st.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 109.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,256 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 120,216 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.06% of Paychex worth $35,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Paychex by 20,236.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 7.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in Paychex by 117.6% during the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $187,512,000 after buying an additional 657,871 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $138.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $145.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.11. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.64 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $49.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% 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

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.70.

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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