4,713 Shares in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Purchased by Spirepoint Private Client LLC

Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,229,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.68. 1,822,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,321,770. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,869 shares of company stock worth $15,870,933. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.