Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,790,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,856 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises approximately 1.0% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.50% of Paychex worth $212,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $133.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $137.40. The stock has a market cap of $47.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

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.