Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $710,000 Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 58.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after buying an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,330,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Paychex by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 82,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,880,000 after buying an additional 10,143 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

PAYX opened at $133.26 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $128.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $137.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.