Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 57.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,617 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 38,655.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 30.9% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $205,877,000 after purchasing an additional 395,343 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $148.57 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $137.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.25. The stock has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. 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 52-week low of $113.70 and a 52-week high of $149.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

About Paychex

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.