Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 4,276 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 2.9%, acquiring an additional 4,276 shares during the first quarter, which brought its total holdings to 153,863 shares valued at approximately $23.74 million.
• Paychex reported earnings of $1.19 per share, matching analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $1.43 billion, exceeding the anticipated $1.38 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which will be paid on August 29th, representing an annualized yield of 3.2% with a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,863 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $23,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.70.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex 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 owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $138.25. 2,671,372 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.64 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $145.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

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.