DNB Asset Management AS Buys 4,001 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,001 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,750,472,000 after purchasing an additional 123,268 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,687,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,151,000 after purchasing an additional 56,793 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Paychex by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.22. 1,545,496 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,864,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $129.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.08 and its 200-day moving average is $122.14.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.