BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 7,962 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,962 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the second quarter worth about $30,000. American National Bank increased its position in Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX opened at $146.27 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $141.39 and its 200-day moving average is $130.83.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.