Ghe LLC Has $2.83 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ghe LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 1.2% of Ghe LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank increased its stake in Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.1 %

Paychex stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.86. 58,901 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,782,170. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.72. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. 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 a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

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.