Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,989,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 181,628 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.39% of Paychex worth $769,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $137.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.64 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.04.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.70.

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.