Prospector Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $133.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $137.40.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

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.