Achmea Investment Management B.V. Lowers Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,386 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $14,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,691,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $201,474,000 after acquiring an additional 63,337 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 345,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,364,000 after acquiring an additional 16,460 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 316,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,741,000 after purchasing an additional 10,214 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $132.99 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $134.27. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

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.