Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 997,930 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,296 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.28% of Paychex worth $142,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 38,655.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $107,340,000 after acquiring an additional 797,843 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 46.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,748,485 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,627,000 after buying an additional 552,540 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Paychex by 19.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $279,351,000 after acquiring an additional 384,184 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,524,870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,278,142,000 after acquiring an additional 345,682 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA grew its stake in Paychex by 2,139.2% during the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 295,692 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,667,000 after purchasing an additional 282,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Paychex
Insider Activity at Paychex
In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Paychex Stock Performance
PAYX stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $141.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,512,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,064. The stock has a market cap of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $142.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.12. 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 posted its quarterly 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. 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.
Paychex Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.
About Paychex
(
Free Report)
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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