ING Groep NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

ING Groep NV trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,981 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,771 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% in 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 period. Finally, American National Bank raised its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.96. 1,631,158 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,791,675. The company's fifty day moving average price is $139.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.12. The company has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.