Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $26.28 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 2.1% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI owned 0.05% of Paychex worth $26,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $430,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 72.9% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Paychex by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,636,000 after buying an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 18.6% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,371,000 after buying an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,177 shares of company stock valued at $11,698,870. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $141.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $50.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.