Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,470 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,853 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $11,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 38,655.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $205,877,000 after acquiring an additional 395,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $279,351,000 after acquiring an additional 384,184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.96. 1,631,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,791,675. The firm's 50-day moving average is $139.03 and its 200-day moving average is $128.96. The stock has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.99. 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.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.77.

About Paychex

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.