Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 87.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,052 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,076 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Paychex were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. American National Bank increased its position in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
PAYX opened at $144.46 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.92. The company has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.
In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment 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, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.62.
View Our Latest Stock Report on 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.
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