Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 424,160 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,702 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Paychex worth $56,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $267,695,000 after buying an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $205,877,000 after buying an additional 395,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.01 on Friday, reaching $148.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,022,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,606. The firm has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.70 and a fifty-two week high of $149.26. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $137.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.30.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.