Creative Planning Sells 109 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Creative Planning cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Paychex were worth $13,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 4.8% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,828,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 159,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,968,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,557,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,673 shares of company stock worth $5,636,085. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $140.79 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $141.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.49.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

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.