Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were 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 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 at this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $133.26 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $137.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.82.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company 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 was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Company 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.