Sheets Smith Wealth Management Has $3.31 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,635 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 25,077 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.57. 2,022,161 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,606. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.70 and a 52 week high of $149.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $137.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.30. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.