Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings 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 worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,207,000. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 199,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,928,000 after purchasing an additional 101,177 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Down 3.5%

PAYX stock opened at $139.34 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.07 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.91.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. 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.