Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,505 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,484 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Paychex were worth $18,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Paychex by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Paychex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $132,636,000 after acquiring an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in Paychex by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $2,557,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $1.15 on Wednesday, reaching $141.24. 2,178,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,770,311. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $142.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.62.

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.