Clear Rock Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Clear Rock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.2% of Clear Rock Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Clear Rock Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Paychex by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 499,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,573,000 after purchasing an additional 3,724 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 74.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 40,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after buying an additional 17,056 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Paychex by 220.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 117,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,410,000 after acquiring an additional 80,678 shares in the last quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Dodds Wealth LLC now owns 1,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 13,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,438 shares of company stock valued at $18,185,292. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.28. 2,415,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,943,847. The firm has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a PEG 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’s 50 day moving average price is $122.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Paychex 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.