Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 2,623 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 26.9%, now owning 7,130 shares after selling 2,623 shares during the first quarter, valued at $1,100,000.
• CEO John B. Gibson and Chairman Martin Mucci both sold significant amounts of Paychex stock recently, with Gibson selling 12,370 shares for approximately $1.76 million and Mucci selling 97,526 shares for about $14.16 million.
• Paychex has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08, which will be distributed to investors on August 29th, reflecting an annualized payout of $4.32 and a yield of 3.1%.

Fayez Sarofim & Co trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 26.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,130 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,623 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. King Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 4.7% during the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $141.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,367,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,028,548. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.00 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.