Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Purchased by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 633,834 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,126 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.18% of Paychex worth $84,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank grew its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Trading Up 0.4 %

PAYX stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.72. 91,031 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,771,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.