Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 87.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,076 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Paychex were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 123.9% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 204,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,115,000 after purchasing an additional 113,165 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,993,000 after buying an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 19,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 979,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,286,000 after acquiring an additional 6,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 6.4% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $144.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $140.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.