Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Janney Capital Management LLC

Janney Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 88,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 917 shares during the quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $11,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.6% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.2% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. 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 the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512 over the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $139.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $50.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.58 and a 52 week high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

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.