Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,964 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $27,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $279,351,000 after purchasing an additional 384,184 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,790,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $212,267,000 after purchasing an additional 113,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 114,132 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the 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 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 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $142.96 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $139.30 and its 200-day moving average is $129.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.