Bokf Na Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bokf Na boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Paychex by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 123,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Paychex during the second quarter valued at $1,555,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 49.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 154,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 51,085 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.2% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 114,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $135.09 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $136.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

About Paychex

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.