Stevens Capital Management LP Has $963,000 Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 77.6%, owning 6,241 shares valued at approximately $963,000 as of the latest reporting period.
• Paychex declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 2.95%.
• The company achieved a net margin of 29.75% and reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19, meeting analyst estimates for the quarter.

Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 77.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,241 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Paychex were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,339,463,000 after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,104,626 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $575,551,000 after purchasing an additional 208,130 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 14.7% during the fourth 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 valued at $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $146.48. 754,880 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,133,331. The stock's 50-day moving average is $150.16 and its 200-day moving average is $148.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $52.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.07 and a 52 week high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.