Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.2% 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 3,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Paychex were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $148.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $53.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.34. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.87 and a 52 week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.