Donaldson Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 427,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,232 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 2.5% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $66,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $184,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Paychex by 20,236.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th 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. Amundi grew its position in Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $215,164,000 after purchasing an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Paychex by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,746,000 after purchasing an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $155.31 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $150.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.55.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company 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.