Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Sells 276 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 166.8% during the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 404,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 15.1% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.7% during the third quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 37,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,049,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 9.3% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,792,000 after purchasing an additional 97,867 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $141.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.19. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.