Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 135,919 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,586 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Paychex were worth $19,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,419,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $314,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $1.98 on Wednesday, hitting $156.99. 1,483,123 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,445. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.39. The stock has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's payout ratio is 90.00%.

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.