Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Cut by Inspire Investing LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX – Free Report) by 23.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,205 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,400,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,513 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $89,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $138.89 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.48. The company has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $142.04.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s 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 $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,360,630. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities 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, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Get Our Latest Report on PAYX

Paychex Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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