Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 23,584 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,584 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. American National Bank increased its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.46 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.18 and a 200-day moving average of $129.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.