Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 306,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,769 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $36,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in Paychex by 12.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Paychex by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,492,000 after buying an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $129.79. 1,034,240 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,830,656. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.11 and a 200 day moving average of $122.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

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.