Raiffeisen Bank International AG Has $629,000 Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 53.8% during the 1st quarter, resulting in ownership of 4,162 shares valued at approximately $629,000.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their positions in Paychex, with 83.47% of the stock now owned by these entities.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, reflecting a 3.1% yield and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 53.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,162 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,849 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Paychex were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Paychex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,772,544,000 after buying an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,104,626 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $575,551,000 after purchasing an additional 208,130 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Paychex by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,683,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $376,226,000 after purchasing an additional 105,133 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $50.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.07 and a 52 week 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $148.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.60.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

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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