Qsemble Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,555,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in Paychex by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in Paychex by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC increased its position in Paychex by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 dropped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $134.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.32. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $134.47.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 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.