Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 113 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Paychex were worth $3,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $132.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.23. 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 one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $137.40. The firm has a market cap of $47.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. 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 note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.62.

About Paychex

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.