Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Position Lifted by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 15.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,074 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,881 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,238,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $132,636,000 after acquiring an additional 212,700 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in Paychex by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,703,913 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 114,132 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3 %

Paychex stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $142.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,243,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,102. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.43. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective 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 boosted their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.