Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Boosted by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $231,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 5,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 106,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 209,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,723,000 after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 201.7% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 528 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last 90 days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Up 0.4 %

PAYX opened at $139.68 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.98 and a fifty-two week high of $144.17. The company has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.64.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business 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 firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

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.