Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Kathmere Capital Management LLC

Kathmere Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 289 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 152,438 shares of company stock valued at $18,185,292 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6 %

PAYX stock traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,415,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,847. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.