Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Glenmede Trust Co. NA

Glenmede Trust Co. NA reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 249,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,210 shares during the quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA owned 0.07% of Paychex worth $33,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 34.1% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $220,000. Prospector Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 36,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,949,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in Paychex by 21.4% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 23,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $145.71 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $140.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, 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 valued at $7,577,231 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex 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.