Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 384,184 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 384,184 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.65% of Paychex worth $279,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd 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. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $134.93 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The company has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $127.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.59.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.