Callan Family Office LLC Sells 2,326 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. by 32.9%, now owning 4,749 shares valued at approximately $733,000 after selling 2,326 shares.
• Insider trading activity included Chairman Martin Mucci selling 97,526 shares for over $14 million, decreasing his position by 17.91%.
• JPMorgan Chase raised the target price on Paychex from $140 to $148, maintaining an "underweight" rating, while the consensus rating for the stock is currently "Hold" with a target price of $150.20.

Callan Family Office LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,749 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,326 shares during the quarter. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 30,374 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,051 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 8,431 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 5,379 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $138.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,671,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. 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 twelve month low of $124.64 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $49.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average is $145.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.11.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.70.

Paychex 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.