Allegheny Financial Group LTD Purchases 1,021 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 51.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD’s holdings in Paychex were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Paychex by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $131.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $133.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.99 and a 200 day moving average of $122.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.