Ceera Investments LLC Trims Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ceera Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for about 1.4% of Ceera Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd 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. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $31,000. American National Bank increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.62.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.69 on Friday, reaching $129.38. 1,359,690 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,818,663. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $133.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.07. The company has a market cap of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

About Paychex

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.