Rockland Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Rockland Trust Co. lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085 over the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.65. 1,776,714 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,834,330. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.83. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Company 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.