Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,388 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 118.5% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 136,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 74,245 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 32.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,404,000 after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Paychex by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 581,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $81,542,000 after acquiring an additional 23,359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.91 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.11.

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.