Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank raised its position in Paychex by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth about $2,796,000. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 57.7% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,573,000 after buying an additional 7,943 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in Paychex by 6.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Paychex by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after acquiring an additional 212,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $145.71 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.59.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on 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 boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.