M3 Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

M3 Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. M3 Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $142.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 193,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,799,716. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $133.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.01. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $144.17. The company has a market capitalization of $51.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen raised their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 87,177 shares of company stock valued at $11,698,870. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.