International Assets Investment Management LLC Sells 796,306 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

International Assets Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 99.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,601 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 796,306 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 46.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $234,627,000 after purchasing an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 384,184 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,278,142,000 after purchasing an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA increased its holdings in Paychex by 2,139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 295,692 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,667,000 after purchasing an additional 282,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,904,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,052. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

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.