CWA Asset Management Group LLC Invests $1.60 Million in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,604,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.5% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,702 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $148.57 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.70 and a 12 month high of $149.26. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.25.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.64%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio 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.