Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Buys 103 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for approximately 1.2% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $133.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.72. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Company 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.