Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 21.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 138.3% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 197,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Paychex by 155.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 204,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,115,000 after acquiring an additional 113,165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Paychex Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $144.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.00 and a 200-day moving average of $129.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

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.