Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 80,166 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 80,166 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Paychex were worth $14,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in Paychex by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after acquiring an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.08.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $134.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $137.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.94.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

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.