Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Increased by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 46.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.1% in the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.3% during the third quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 14.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.1% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after acquiring an additional 6,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20.1% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 2,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $134.36 and its 200-day moving average is $126.60. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $144.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 78,223 shares of company stock valued at $10,592,156 over the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.