Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 8.9%, acquiring an additional 3,535 shares to reach a total of 43,195 shares, valued at approximately $6.66 million.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 3.1%.
• Institutional investors own 83.47% of Paychex, with a mix of new and existing positions being established by several hedge funds in the first quarter.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,195 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,535 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Paychex were worth $6,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 30,374 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,259,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 38,319 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, 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 that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents 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.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $137.57. 1,953,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,091,113. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.64 and a 1-year high of $161.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average of $144.91 and a 200 day moving average of $148.04.

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. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

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.