Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stake Boosted by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,638 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,208 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 6.3 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $8.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,444,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,789,215. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.82 and a 52-week high of $149.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $137.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 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 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.77.

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.