Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Raised by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 115,664 shares valued at approximately $17.79 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 83.47% of Paychex stock, with significant increases from firms such as GAMMA Investing LLC and Charles Schwab Investment Management.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with a current dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,664 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,321 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,907,314,000 after buying an additional 286,818 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after buying an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,663,474,000 after buying an additional 737,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $637,993,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,671,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.64 and a 52 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.

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 for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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 firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.