Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter worth about $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, American National Bank boosted its stake in Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $142.96 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Company 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.