MRA Advisory Group Acquires Shares of 2,065 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MRA Advisory Group bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,350,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.5 %

PAYX opened at $129.38 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $133.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $124.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.06. 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 market cap of $46.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

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.