Versor Investments LP Buys New Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $866,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $148.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.87 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.52. 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 (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, 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.