Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by TrinityPoint Wealth LLC

TrinityPoint Wealth LLC reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 515 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,796,000. PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in Paychex by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in Paychex by 6.6% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 64,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,657,000 after acquiring an additional 4,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $141.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $139.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex 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.