Virtu Financial LLC Lowers Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Virtu Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,853 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,645 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 166.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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 trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,138,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,005. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The company's fifty day moving average price is $142.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.95. The stock has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.62.

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.