Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Paychex were worth $146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Paychex by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,522,000 after buying an additional 6,033 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at about $2,796,000. Finally, PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of Paychex by 57.7% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $148.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.93. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.34 and a 52-week high of $149.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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, 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 return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

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.