Spire Wealth Management Lowers Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Spire Wealth Management lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 111,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,283,000 after acquiring an additional 28,616 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 25,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,987,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 11,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

Paychex stock opened at $131.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $123.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.92. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $133.12.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

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.