White Pine Investment CO Increases Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

White Pine Investment CO boosted its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 26.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,326 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,081 shares during the period. White Pine Investment CO's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. Indie Asset Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.9% during the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $282,000. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $285,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in Paychex by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 272,993 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,633,000 after acquiring an additional 27,551 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,182,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,736. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $136.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.58 and a 12-month high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

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.