Cypress Capital Group Sells 3,076 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Cypress Capital Group has reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 6.1%, now owning 47,181 shares valued at approximately $7.28 million.
• Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares for over $14 million, resulting in a 17.91% decrease in ownership, while CEO John B. Gibson also sold shares, reducing his stake by 13.14%.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $150.20 for Paychex, with ratings varying from hold to equal weight, following a recent earnings report that matched expectations.

Cypress Capital Group cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,181 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,076 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in Paychex were worth $7,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $134,192,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 7.3% during the 1st 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 boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,844,949 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $438,919,000 after purchasing an additional 581,410 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.12 on Thursday, hitting $137.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,425,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,155,989. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $146.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.64 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.