Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Cape Investment Advisory Inc.

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 306 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Paychex by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in Paychex by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.28. 2,415,604 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,847. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,438 shares of company stock valued at $18,185,292. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.