Ascent Group LLC Has $893,000 Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.62.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $134.19 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.34. 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 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $137.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00.

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 issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,085 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.