Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Cuts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 87.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,076 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Paychex were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. American National Bank increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $144.46 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.92. The company has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

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.