Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by OLD Republic International Corp

OLD Republic International Corp trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 423,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Paychex makes up about 2.5% of OLD Republic International Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. OLD Republic International Corp owned about 0.12% of Paychex worth $65,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in Paychex by 0.5% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 276,998 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,735,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 12,276 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 200.3% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,649 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.2% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,021 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $123,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. One research 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 stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $145.31. 2,792,887 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,979,737. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $152.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.12. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $52.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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 last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid 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 2.97%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.