Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 169.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,624 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 position in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,177 shares of company stock worth $11,698,870 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $141.09. The stock had a trading volume of 833,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,704. The firm has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $144.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company's 50 day moving average price is $133.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Paychex 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.