Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Lessened by TIAA Trust National Association

Key Points

• TIAA Trust National Association reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 26.5%, owning 5,022 shares valued at $775,000 after selling 1,809 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Paychex, with Aviva PLC raising its stake by 103.2%, owning 199,175 shares valued at nearly $28 million.
• Paychex's recent quarterly earnings met analyst estimates with an EPS of $1.19 and a revenue of $1.43 billion, exceeding expectations of $1.38 billion.

TIAA Trust National Association reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,022 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association's holdings in Paychex were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Paychex by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,586 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,263 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Paychex by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 199,175 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,928,000 after purchasing an additional 101,177 shares during the period. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2%

Paychex stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $139.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,976,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,174,916. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.07 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.60. The company has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, 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 transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. 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.