Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Raised by IFG Advisory LLC

IFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $1.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $131.20. 1,798,939 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,831,250. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.79. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $132.13. The company has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

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.