3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Invests $397,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Paychex by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Paychex by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,548,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,492,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,663,199.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,673 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,085 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $140.79 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $129.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $141.59.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.62.

Paychex 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.