Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 31.8%, owning 4,732 shares valued at $730,000 after selling 2,205 shares in the first quarter.
• Paychex Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares for over $14 million, representing a 17.91% decrease in his ownership, while CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares, reducing his ownership by 13.14%.
• Wall Street analysts have indicated a cautious outlook, with several firms lowering their price targets for Paychex, leading to an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of around $150.70.

Prudential PLC cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 31.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,732 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,205 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,907,314,000 after acquiring an additional 286,818 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 7.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,782,173 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,663,474,000 after purchasing an additional 737,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,135,296 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $637,993,000 after buying an additional 30,670 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.70.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.68 on Monday, hitting $137.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,953,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,091,113. The company has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.64 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction 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 approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.