W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,661 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,863 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co's holdings in Paychex were worth $7,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third 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 acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its position in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded down $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $140.88. 625,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,783,358. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $139.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.42. 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 company has a market cap of $50.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Paychex's payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % 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 worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.