Royal Fund Management LLC Acquires 26,826 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 97.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,826 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in Paychex by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.87. 28,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,817,681. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $130.86 and a 200-day moving average of $125.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,404 shares of company stock worth $7,686,345. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.