Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 799 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Paychex by 1.7% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Security Financial Services INC. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 1,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $12,277,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,177 shares of company stock valued at $11,698,870 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $144.17. The company has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.18.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.