Inspire Investing LLC Sells 7,404 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,404 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 0.6% of Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $132.50 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $137.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $47.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.66.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

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.