DRW Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Paychex by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 16,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 10.5% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 76,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,321,000 after buying an additional 7,334 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 8,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 2,914 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,653,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % 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, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $146.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.37. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

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.