Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Boosted by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

PAYX opened at $129.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. 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 fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $133.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $124.75 and a 200-day moving average of $123.06.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.62.

About Paychex

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.