Edgestream Partners L.P. Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 267.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,736 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $269,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 35.7% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 118.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,554,000 after purchasing an additional 49,851 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $1,019,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $237,000. 72.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 41,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.79, for a total value of $4,785,484.91. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,292,642. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

PAYX opened at $117.52 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $115.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.92. The company has a market cap of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.97.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 27th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.40% and a return on equity of 46.51%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 13th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 80.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.63.

Paychex Company 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.