Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Chairman Martin Mucci Sells 101,490 Shares of Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $117.43 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Paychex by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 240,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,731,000 after buying an additional 66,802 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 229.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,456 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 309,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,642,000 after purchasing an additional 124,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1,435.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 49,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,748,000 after purchasing an additional 46,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

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.