Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 7,334 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 76,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,334 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $10,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3 %

PAYX opened at $144.46 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a PE 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.18 and a 200 day moving average of $130.04.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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 stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company 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.