MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Has $7.95 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,271 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up 1.0% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,750,472,000 after purchasing an additional 123,268 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,687,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,151,000 after acquiring an additional 56,793 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Paychex by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after acquiring an additional 623,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $129.38 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $133.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors 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 3.03%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

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.