BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 30.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,440,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 335,579 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Paychex were worth $176,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

PAYX traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.54. 1,585,817 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,130,275. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.64. The firm has a market cap of $42.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.