Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 5.8%, now holding 54,361 shares valued at $8.39 million.
• CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares at an average price of $141.92, decreasing his ownership by 13.14%.
• Paychex recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,361 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,348 shares during the quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY's holdings in Paychex were worth $8,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after acquiring an additional 286,818 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after purchasing an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $637,993,000 after purchasing an additional 30,670 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $138.42. 540,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,150,118. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.64 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.53%.

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.