Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 1.0% in Q1, now holding 179,557 shares valued at approximately $27.70 million.
• Insider activity revealed Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares for about $14.16 million, resulting in a 17.91% decrease in his ownership.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with a payout ratio of 94.53%, scheduled for payment on August 29th.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,557 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,802 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $27,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 110,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,544,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,480 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,294,000 after acquiring an additional 6,005 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in shares of Paychex by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 6,831 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.8% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 163,301 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,898,000 after buying an additional 75,417 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $147.33. The stock had a trading volume of 442,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,090. The stock has a market cap of $53.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $149.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.61. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $122.07 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Paychex 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.