Sanctuary Advisors LLC Has $12.67 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,726 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,054 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2,139.2% during the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 295,692 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,667,000 after acquiring an additional 282,487 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $210,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 34.7% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 40,737 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,466,000 after acquiring an additional 10,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 7.6% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,243 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.98. 2,138,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,772,005. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.95.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.