GW&K Investment Management LLC Buys 1,902 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 344,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $53,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after acquiring an additional 174,817 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,339,463,000 after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Paychex by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Paychex by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,104,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,551,000 after purchasing an additional 208,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $143.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.33 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.35.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.20.

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.