Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 113.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,810 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,561 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 117.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,241,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 108,122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,161,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 129.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 118,524 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,619,000 after acquiring an additional 66,919 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9%

PAYX stock traded up $1.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $143.52. 940,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,979,406. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.33 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a market capitalization of $51.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price 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 research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

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.