AlphaCore Capital LLC Has $788,000 Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new position in Paychex in the second quarter worth approximately $2,796,000. PGGM Investments grew its stake in Paychex by 57.7% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.6% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 64,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,657,000 after acquiring an additional 4,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Paychex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $144.09 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.00 and its 200 day moving average is $129.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.