Sienna Gestion Has $7.65 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion has reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 12.8%, selling 7,484 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 51,021 shares valued at approximately $7.65 million.
• The company reported $1.19 EPS for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding consensus estimates by $50 million.
• Paychex declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which represents an annual yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Sienna Gestion decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,021 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,484 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Paychex were worth $7,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Paychex by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 30,374 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,681 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,051 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Paychex by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 8,431 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,379 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.70.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $138.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,671,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,869. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average is $145.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.64 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio 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.