Insider Selling: Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Chairman Sells $11,901,732.30 in Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Paychex Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $117.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.64. The stock has a market cap of $42.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.