Cumberland Partners Ltd Acquires 5,000 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 62.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, American National Bank lifted its position in Paychex by 166.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $148.00. 1,472,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,790,006. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $113.87 and a one year high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $53.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $138.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Paychex's payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company'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 value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex 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.