Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,750,472,000 after buying an additional 123,268 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Paychex by 19.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $279,351,000 after acquiring an additional 384,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Paychex by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, 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 directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $140.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $134.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $144.17.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PAYX. 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.