Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 237,059 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798,499 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 237,059 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of Paychex worth $107,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted 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 valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Paychex by 19.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $279,351,000 after purchasing an additional 384,184 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,790,377 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $212,267,000 after purchasing an additional 113,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 114,132 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm'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 value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % 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 worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $141.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,122,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,674. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $139.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.26. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. 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.