Savvy Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 286.0% in 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 period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the second 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

Paychex stock opened at $148.00 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.87 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $53.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 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 analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Company 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.