Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Has $755,000 Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 5.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $141.83 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $139.80 and its 200 day moving average is $129.65.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.