Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Acquires 671 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 118,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 61.8% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 170,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,243,000 after purchasing an additional 65,188 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $546,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 12,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 64.7% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.65 on Friday, reaching $131.20. 1,798,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,831,250. The stock has a market cap of $47.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $132.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.72.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.30 billion during 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 revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

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.