AA Financial Advisors LLC Invests $224,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

AA Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Rogco LP raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Dohj LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Paychex Stock Down 0.7 %

PAYX stock traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $124.54. 196,196 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,845,862. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.25. The stock has a market cap of $44.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

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.