Valmark Advisers Inc. Buys 131 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. American National Bank grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in 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 increased its holdings in Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $131.20 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $132.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $47.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.80.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total transaction of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 in the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.