DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 499,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,724 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.14% of Paychex worth $60,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,750,472,000 after purchasing an additional 123,268 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Paychex by 12.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,687,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,151,000 after buying an additional 56,793 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,492,000 after acquiring an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.28. 2,415,604 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,847. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.92. The company has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.08.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The sale 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 Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,438 shares of company stock valued at $18,185,292 in the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Company 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.