Van ECK Associates Corp Has $12.25 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,208 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $12,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.76 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.98 and a 1-year high of $144.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $136.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.78. The company has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, 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 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Company 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.