Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Cut by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 39.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,627 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,733 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.9% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 5.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,522,000 after buying an additional 6,033 shares during the period. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $2,796,000. Finally, PGGM Investments grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.7% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,573,000 after buying an additional 7,943 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.05 on Thursday, reaching $146.56. 1,536,456 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,788,516. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.34 and a fifty-two week high of $149.26. The business's 50-day moving average is $137.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.93. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.99.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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%. Paychex's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value 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 $2,020,197.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This 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 valued at $7,577,231 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

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.