Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Boosted by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 20.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,869 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,492,000 after acquiring an additional 623,000 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 152,438 shares of company stock worth $18,185,292. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $2.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $124.70. 2,256,900 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,866,155. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.92. 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 company has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

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.