State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Paychex by 55.8% during 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 during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.46.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $117.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.78. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Paychex

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.