AIA Group Ltd Has $1.30 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AIA Group Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 45.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,006 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 366.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 218.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,794,000 after purchasing an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $118.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,453,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,288. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.44. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were 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 owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.