Associated Banc Corp Sells 75 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Associated Banc Corp lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank lifted its position in Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $145.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $52.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors 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 yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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 MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus 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.