Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,384 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position 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 valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.22. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The company has a market cap of $50.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,177 shares of company stock valued at $11,698,870. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.