Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Position Lowered by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PAYX. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $126.27. 103,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,828,937. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.92 and a 200-day moving average of $122.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $129.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573 in the last ninety days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.