Strategy Asset Managers LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $346,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $331,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 138.3% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Paychex by 1.9% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,965,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $141.83 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $51.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price 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. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Paychex Company 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.