Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Select Equity Group L.P.

Select Equity Group L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,498,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 83,210 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $177,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,330,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Paychex by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 82,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,880,000 after purchasing an additional 10,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $132.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $128.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.15. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’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 transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 over the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.