STF Management LP Has $683,000 Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

STF Management LP decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. STF Management LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $23,330,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Paychex by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 82,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,880,000 after acquiring an additional 10,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $135.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $48.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $137.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.51.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays cut their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.