Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 28,447 Shares of Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 109.8%, owning 54,354 shares valued at approximately $8.39 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%, with the payout set for August 29th.
• Chairman Martin Mucci and CEO John B. Gibson both sold significant portions of their stock, with Mucci selling 97,526 shares for over $14 million and Gibson selling 12,370 shares for approximately $1.76 million.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 109.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,354 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,447 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $177,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 737,542 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. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 117.6% during the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,217,092 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $187,512,000 after purchasing an additional 657,871 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was 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 Price Performance

Paychex stock traded down $0.68 on Monday, reaching $137.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,953,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,069. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The business's fifty day moving average price is $145.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.11. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.64 and a twelve month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

About Paychex

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.