Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 82.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55,297 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 14.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 76,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,837,000 after buying an additional 9,671 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 812,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,787,000 after buying an additional 52,076 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $151,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $0.73 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $123.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,807,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,299. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.73. The company has a market capitalization of $44.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,869 shares of company stock valued at $15,870,933. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.