Ethic Inc. Has $8.80 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 14.8% during the first quarter, owning 56,896 shares valued at approximately $8.8 million.
• Paychex reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19, matching analysts' expectations, with revenue surpassing estimates at $1.43 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,896 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,317 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Tsfg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.70.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $137.57. 1,953,622 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,091,113. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.04. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.64 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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 period last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Paychex

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.