Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Raises Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 62.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,861 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,991 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in Paychex were worth $11,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Paychex by 118.5% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 15.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 581,529 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $81,542,000 after acquiring an additional 23,359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $1.59 on Friday, hitting $147.99. 1,294,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,404,700. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.40 and a 200-day moving average of $148.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.07 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.