Aureus Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Aureus Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 22.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $600,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $6,051,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 57,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,753,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter worth $2,426,000. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.3% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 8,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $146.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.83. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.