B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Acquires Shares of 28,108 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 28,108 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,772,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 8,787 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,628 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 33,415 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.83 on Thursday. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $139.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.65. The company has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. upped their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of 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 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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