Absher Wealth Management LLC Sells 174 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Absher Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.75. The stock had a trading volume of 97,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,778,328. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.58 and a 12 month high of $144.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.27.

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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.83%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.