Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Has $17.99 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 38,655.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 30.9% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $205,877,000 after acquiring an additional 395,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,022,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,458,583. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.70 and a 12 month high of $149.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.75 and a 200 day moving average of $128.25. The company has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.