Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $15,207,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.60. The company has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.07 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex 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.