Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $6.56 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,352 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,494,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 22,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 73,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.65. 1,776,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,834,330. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.83. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $142.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,673 shares of company stock valued at $5,636,085. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.