Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Decreased by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,120,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,744 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for about 2.0% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $150,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth approximately $231,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 201.7% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 528 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 30,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $146.56 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $137.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.34 and a 12 month high of $149.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.