Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 209,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $25,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Paychex by 1.3% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 106,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 214,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,340,000 after acquiring an additional 36,439 shares in the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,307,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 17.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.03 on Wednesday, hitting $115.99. The company had a trading volume of 762,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,833,702. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.51. The company has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 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 business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.