Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,394 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.07% of Paychex worth $34,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American National Bank raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.86 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.46. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.