Public Sector Pension Investment Board Increases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American National Bank boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third 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. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on 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 price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.40 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

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.