Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 38,655.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $205,877,000 after buying an additional 395,343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $139.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.98 and a 52-week high of $144.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 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.