CWA Asset Management Group LLC Acquires New Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,952 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,604,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 47.5% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 3.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 424,160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,918,000 after acquiring an additional 13,702 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $231,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.57. 2,022,161 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,493,606. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $113.70 and a one year high of $149.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. 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 firm earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors 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 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

About Paychex

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.