Financial Advocates Investment Management Buys 1,119 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 38,655.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.27. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $144.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00.

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 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.