Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 69,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,829 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after buying an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $23,330,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $774,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $132.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $125.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.25. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $134.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’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 owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

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.