Insigneo Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its position in Paychex by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.62.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $132.99 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $137.40.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

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.