Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by Baron Wealth Management LLC

Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $346,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 64,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,931,000 after buying an additional 4,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 16,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.42. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. 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 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. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, 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 value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Barclays lifted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.