PGGM Investments Has $2.57 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

PGGM Investments grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 57.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying 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 reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Paychex by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $23,330,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.61. 291,381 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,845,143. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $129.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.27. The firm has a market cap of $45.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.12%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

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.