PGGM Investments Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

PGGM Investments lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 57.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,943 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Paychex were worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 82,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.51 on Thursday, hitting $125.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 291,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,143. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.69 and a 200-day moving average of $122.27. The company has a market capitalization of $45.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.92. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

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.