Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Sells 482 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.08.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $134.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.94. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $137.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’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 $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.