True Vision MN LLC Purchases New Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

True Vision MN LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in Paychex by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $134.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.10 and its 200 day moving average is $123.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $137.40.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.