Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, American National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085 in the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $138.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.45 and a 200-day moving average of $124.85. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The stock has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.