Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $220,000. Prospector Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 36,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,949,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 23,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 241,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 633,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,294,000 after acquiring an additional 7,126 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

PAYX opened at $146.19 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.61 and its 200-day moving average is $130.37. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

About Paychex

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.