Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 761 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.6% in 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. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 boosted their price target 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. Citigroup lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $142.96 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 4.03 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $139.03 and a 200 day moving average of $128.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.