31,069 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Acquired by American Trust

American Trust bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 31,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,815,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Paychex by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in Paychex by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 10,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,252,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Paychex by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 96,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,479,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Paychex by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 4,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,438 shares of company stock worth $18,185,292 over the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $127.28. 2,415,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,847. The business’s 50 day moving average is $122.07 and its 200-day moving average is $122.10. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.