Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Reduces Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 38,655.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after purchasing an additional 797,843 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after buying an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512 in the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $139.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.58 and a 52 week high of $144.17.

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

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

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.