Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Raised by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,174 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Paychex by 13.2% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 3,973 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after buying an additional 2,766 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 9,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 5,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 1.5 %

PAYX stock opened at $130.07 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $133.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.03.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

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.