Prelude Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $269,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Paychex by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Paychex by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,554,000 after acquiring an additional 49,851 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $1,019,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.18% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $116.31 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $122.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 31.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.79%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 45,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total transaction of $5,724,417.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,208. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 20,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $2,433,727.31. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,352,685.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 45,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total value of $5,724,417.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,474,208. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 221,916 shares of company stock worth $26,789,753. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Paychex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.12.

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.