Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Sells 96 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position 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 valued at $304,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 38,655.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $107,340,000 after purchasing an additional 797,843 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after purchasing an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 30.9% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $205,877,000 after purchasing an additional 395,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $139.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.69 and a 200-day moving average of $127.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.98 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.