AlphaCore Capital LLC Buys 575 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,142,000 after acquiring an additional 345,682 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 24.4% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 90,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,078,000 after purchasing an additional 17,676 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 25.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 729,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $97,856,000 after buying an additional 146,421 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.3% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 371,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,895,000 after buying an additional 40,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 13,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.09 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a market capitalization of $51.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $140.00 and a 200-day moving average of $129.75.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.