Raymond James & Associates Has $132.64 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 988,417 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 212,700 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.27% of Paychex worth $132,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in 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. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 4.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,796,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded down $0.79 on Friday, hitting $141.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,359,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,392. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $144.17. The company has a market capitalization of $50.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day moving average is $133.36 and its 200-day moving average is $126.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. 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. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. 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 available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 87,177 shares of company stock worth $11,698,870. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

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.