LGT Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

LGT Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. American National Bank boosted its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817 in the last three months. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 1.5 %

PAYX stock opened at $130.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $133.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $124.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.03.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

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.