Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) CEO John B. Gibson Sells 12,370 Shares of Stock

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $143.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.33 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.20.

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.