Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Paychex were worth $3,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $642,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $774,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Paychex by 35.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in Paychex by 2.8% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 14,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Paychex by 1.7% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 74,162 shares of company stock valued at $9,846,185. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $142.30 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.28 and a 200-day moving average of $125.78. The company has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $144.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex 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.