Capital Investment Counsel Inc Decreases Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 30.8% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 4.1% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Paychex by 37.6% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in Paychex by 15.4% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.6% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 24,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted 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 boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,223 shares of company stock worth $10,592,156. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $141.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $144.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.36 and its 200 day moving average is $126.60. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend 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.