US Bancorp DE Sells 3,295 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 221,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,295 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Paychex were worth $29,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Paychex by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after buying an additional 579,136 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised 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 valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Paychex by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,522,000 after buying an additional 6,033 shares during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,796,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $139.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.58 and a 52-week high of $144.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $136.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company 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%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.