Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $3.02 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,207,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, 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 transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 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. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.34 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $149.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.60. The company has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.07 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

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.