Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Sells 306 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $139.33 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The company has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $136.13 and its 200 day moving average is $127.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex 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 transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512. Company 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.