Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) was in 13 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. PAYX investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with PAYX holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for an executive to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if you understand what to do (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a look at the key action surrounding Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX).
What have hedge funds been doing with Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group had the largest position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX), worth close to $113.5 million, comprising 1.5% of its total 13F portfolio. On Select Equity Group’s heels is Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, which held a $40.5 million position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other peers with similar optimism include David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Since Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has faced falling interest from the smart money, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of money managers that slashed their positions entirely in Q1. Intriguingly, Wojciech Uzdelewicz’s Espalier Global Management dropped the largest stake of the 450+ funds we track, valued at an estimated $13.2 million in stock.. Ray Dalio’s fund, Bridgewater Associates, also sold off its stock, about $5.7 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 1 funds in Q1.
How have insiders been trading Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)?
Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time frame, Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX). These stocks are On Assignment, Inc. (NYSE:ASGN), 51job, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JOBS), Team Health Holdings LLC (NYSE:TMH), Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN), and Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI). This group of stocks are the members of the staffing & outsourcing services industry and their market caps match PAYX’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| On Assignment, Inc. (NYSE:ASGN) | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 51job, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JOBS) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Health Holdings LLC (NYSE:TMH) | 26 | 0 | 2 |
| Manpowergroup Inc (NYSE:MAN) | 16 | 0 | 6 |
| Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI) | 23 | 0 | 1 |
With the returns shown by our tactics, retail investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is no exception.
