Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Buys 274 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 274 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.7% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 17.3% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 2.7% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $12,277,000. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.2% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 7,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,177 shares of company stock worth $11,698,870. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $0.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $140.99. 356,888 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,798,354. 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 50 day moving average of $133.36 and a 200-day moving average of $126.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

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.