Hilltop Holdings Inc. Has $4.94 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 199.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,528 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, American National Bank grew 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 other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 50.37 % 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 dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $145.45 on Tuesday. 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 has a market cap of $52.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.83. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.