Prospera Financial Services Inc Purchases 736 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 207,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,807,000 after buying an additional 1,964 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 962,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $129,091,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,099,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $139.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.57. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

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.