Zions Bancorporation N.A. Has $3.53 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 114,182.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,285 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,262 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Paychex by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares during the period. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,796,000. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its position in Paychex by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 21,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 7,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $145.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,439,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,789,923. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. 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's 50 day moving average price is $138.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.85. The company has a market capitalization of $52.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The company 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%. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

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.