Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 382,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up 3.0% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned 0.11% of Paychex worth $46,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after acquiring an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price 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 dropped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Paychex stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,609,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,507. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $42.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.45.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

About Paychex

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.