Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 12.5%, selling 2,138 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 15,034 shares valued at approximately $2.32 million.
• Paychex recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.19 EPS, meeting expectations, and had revenue of $1.43 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.08 on August 29th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $4.32 and a yield of 3.1%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,034 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,138 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Paychex were worth $2,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the firm'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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm'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 value 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. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $138.60. 2,521,930 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,151,657. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.13 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $147.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91.

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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

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.