Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by ProVise Management Group LLC

ProVise Management Group LLC lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,812,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Paychex by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,610,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,743 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $133.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $137.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $128.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.80.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last ninety days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex 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.