Forsta AP Fonden Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden sold 3,700 shares of Paychex, Inc., decreasing its holdings by 2.9%, bringing its total to 123,300 shares valued at approximately $19 million.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share with a yield of 3.1%, to be paid on August 29th to shareholders of record on July 21st.
• Several institutional investors have made changes in their positions in Paychex, with 83.47% of the company's stock now held by institutional investors.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,300 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Paychex were worth $19,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of PAYX traded down $3.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $134.99. 3,123,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,158,050. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.35 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $48.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, 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 insiders.

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.