Auxier Asset Management Sells 156 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Auxier Asset Management cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,750,472,000 after acquiring an additional 123,268 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,687,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,151,000 after buying an additional 56,793 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,492,000 after buying an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $133.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $137.40.

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, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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.