Rhumbline Advisers Sells 48,299 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company owned 726,509 shares of the professional services company’s stock after selling 48,299 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of Paychex worth $86,135,000, according to its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. American National Bank increased its position in shares of Paychex by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s shares.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened Wednesday at $131.93. The company has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a price/earnings ratio of 28.25, a price/earnings/growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt/equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $133.12. The company has a 52-day moving average of $123.99 and a 200-day moving average of $122.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26. The professional services company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% from the year-ago quarter. In the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.92 and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Read our latest stock analysis on PAYX

Buy and sell insider

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction 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 $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed at this link . In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the Chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, Director David J.S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the Chairman now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,163 shares of the company’s stock in the past 90 days, valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the shares are held by company insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

(Free Report)

Paychex, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management (HCM) solutions for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services to small to mid-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.

See also

Want to know which other hedge funds have PAYX in their portfolio? Visit HoldingsChannel.com for the latest 13F filings and insider transactions for Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report).

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