CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 130,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,361 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $17,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 2.0 %

Paychex stock opened at $142.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.96. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders 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 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.