Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 164.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20.4% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 124.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $140.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.03. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex 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.