Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,648 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $31,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,278,142,000 after buying an additional 345,682 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $279,351,000 after acquiring an additional 384,184 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,790,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $212,267,000 after acquiring an additional 113,856 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 7.2% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 114,132 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in Paychex by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $145.45 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.83. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The company has a market capitalization of $52.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” 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 company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by 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.