MQS Management LLC Takes $598,000 Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its holdings in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. 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 through the SEC website. In other 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $148.00 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $113.87 and a one year high of $150.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $138.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup lifted 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.