Carnegie Investment Counsel Cuts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Paychex were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $142.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $142.73.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 74,162 shares of company stock worth $9,846,185 over the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.