Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Raised by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 243.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,967 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Vision MN LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 19.4% in the third quarter. True Vision MN LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,222 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 328,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,066,000 after purchasing an additional 185,339 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3 %

PAYX opened at $145.71 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $140.87 and its 200-day moving average is $130.48. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.