Sepio Capital LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sepio Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,080 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock opened at $132.99 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $137.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.76 and its 200-day moving average is $124.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.62.

About Paychex

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.