Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 784 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $23,330,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 10,143 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $133.26 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $137.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.80. The company has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

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.