Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 118.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 136,876 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $21,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Paychex by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 132,457 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,906 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $145.46. 4,050,167 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,076. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.85. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.