Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $1.45 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,818 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,420 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank raised its position in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.26 on Thursday, hitting $144.09. 1,072,388 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,633. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.80 and a 200-day moving average of $129.65. The stock has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.