Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Financial Advisory Partners LLC

Financial Advisory Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,187 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.8% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Paychex by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PAYX. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,404 shares of company stock valued at $7,686,345 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $139.46. 167,837 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,815,031. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

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.