Vista Investment Partners II LLC Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.5% of Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Vista Investment Partners II LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Paychex by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $708,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Paychex by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 394,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,522,000 after buying an additional 46,944 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Paychex by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 165,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,462,000 after buying an additional 40,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 2.1%

PAYX opened at $143.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.73 and a 200 day moving average of $147.76.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently 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.