Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,807,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,907,314,000 after acquiring an additional 286,818 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,130,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,998,000 after purchasing an additional 401,552 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 25.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,844,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,919,000 after buying an additional 581,410 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $141.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.00 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.40. The company has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.20.

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.