Martin Mucci Sells 101,490 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) 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 value of $11,901,732.30. Following 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 is available through this link.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $117.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.37. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $122.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.75.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.