Permanent Capital Management LP Takes $212,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in Paychex by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.55.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $159.31 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $160.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $150.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.99. The company has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex 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.