Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $2.28 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,311 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. American National Bank boosted its holdings in Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 over the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 1.3 %

PAYX opened at $131.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $132.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Barclays decreased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

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.