Prospera Financial Services Inc Buys 736 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, American National Bank lifted its stake in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.62 and its 200 day moving average is $129.57. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised 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. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.