ProShare Advisors LLC Has $42.19 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 39,619 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Paychex worth $42,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 72,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,600,000 after buying an additional 8,374 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.1% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 72,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 22,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 369,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,727,000 after purchasing an additional 80,427 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $133.26 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

About 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.