XTX Topco Ltd Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,144,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank raised its position in Paychex by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $23,330,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Paychex by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 82,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,880,000 after acquiring an additional 10,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

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

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $133.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.72. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $137.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. 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 is presently 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.