Radnor Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,253,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 8.4% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hardman Johnston Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Balentine LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $467,000. Finally, Cornerstone Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $139.76 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.78. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.98 and a 12-month high of $144.17. The firm has a market cap of $50.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.