Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Acquires New Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,700 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,419,878,000 after purchasing an additional 174,817 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,408,458,000 after acquiring an additional 519,761 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,339,463,000 after acquiring an additional 126,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $153.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,525,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,733. The company has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $151.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.48. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.55.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.