SageView Advisory Group LLC Cuts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

SageView Advisory Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,261 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,637 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.2% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,975,000 after buying an additional 4,881 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Paychex by 11.0% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,057 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.9% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 45,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,138,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley raised 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 lifted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % 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 worth $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.