Global Retirement Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Global Retirement Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 960 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,750,472,000 after buying an additional 123,268 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Paychex by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Paychex by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $279,351,000 after buying an additional 384,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after buying an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,177 shares of company stock worth $11,698,870 over the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.53 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $144.17. The company has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. 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 fifty day moving average price of $133.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.15.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.