First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,471 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $117.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. 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%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.