Commerce Bank Trims Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 3.4%, now holding 92,568 shares valued at approximately $14.28 million after selling 3,255 shares in the first quarter.
• Chairman Martin Mucci and CEO John B. Gibson sold significant shares of Paychex stock, decreasing their ownership positions by 17.91% and 13.14%, respectively.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which will be paid to shareholders on August 29th, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%.

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,568 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,255 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Paychex were worth $14,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $1,332,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Paychex by 2,145.7% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 67,235 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,373,000 after purchasing an additional 64,241 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,420 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in Paychex by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,613 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the 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 owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $139.18. 1,976,749 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,157,192. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business's 50 day moving average price is $148.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.60. The company has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.07 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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