Financial Advocates Investment Management Has $1.46 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. boosted its stake in Paychex by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 2,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 19,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Paychex by 1,155.9% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc boosted its stake in Paychex by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 28,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’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 transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now 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 90 days, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3 %

PAYX stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $130.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 298,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,826,430. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $123.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.62. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $132.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

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.