Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Purchases 86 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $146.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.99. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $140.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.37. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other 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 transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.