First Horizon Advisors Inc. Buys 3,585 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,585 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 2.2% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction 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 represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.80 and a 200 day moving average of $129.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick 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 for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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. 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 2.76%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.