Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Paychex were worth $6,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Paychex by 37.6% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 9.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $140.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $134.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $144.17. 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 (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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex 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.