Larson Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 613 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $82,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,352,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 220.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 117,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,410,000 after acquiring an additional 80,678 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 74.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 40,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 17,056 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $146.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.74.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

About Paychex

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.