Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 23.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,839 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $138.61 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.48 and a 52-week high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

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.