Advisor Resource Council Purchases New Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Two Point Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 0.9% in the third quarter. Two Point Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,630,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 8.9% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,675,000 after acquiring an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $2,253,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in Paychex by 8.4% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.7 %

Paychex stock opened at $146.56 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.34 and a 1-year high of $149.26. 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 market cap of $52.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other 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 owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

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.