Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 382,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 3.0% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $46,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,418,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,623,093,000 after buying an additional 487,031 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,204,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523,520 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Paychex by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,598,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $415,022,000 after acquiring an additional 182,648 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,687,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,151,000 after purchasing an additional 56,793 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Paychex by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $117.06. 1,609,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,844,507. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $121.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Paychex Profile

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.