Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,175 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after buying an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in Paychex by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,282,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $202,016,000 after acquiring an additional 114,132 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth $2,557,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 169.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $141.20 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $142.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex 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.