Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,189 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,511 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % 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 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

PAYX opened at $141.83 on Thursday. 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 cap of $51.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.65.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.58%.

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.