IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 327 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 327 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $8,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 30.8% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 37.6% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 9.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 11.7% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 9.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. 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 at the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. 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 at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512 over the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $140.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.71. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The company has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.