Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 334.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,590 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 200,640 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.07% of Paychex worth $34,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in the second 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. American National Bank raised its stake in Paychex by 166.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note 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 company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $142.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,243,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,102. The stock has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 3.96 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 $142.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.43. 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 released its 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 for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

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.