Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 441 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Paychex by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.9% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,796,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,223 shares of company stock worth $10,592,156 in the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.60. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

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.