Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Increased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 52.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,679 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.46 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.04. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. In 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.

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.