Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after buying an additional 466,890 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective 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 given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $117.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $122.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was 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 owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

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.