Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Bought by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 51.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,739 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 88,394 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.07% of Paychex worth $34,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.62.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $140.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,692,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $142.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.57. 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 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. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.