William Allan Corp Sells 1,995 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

William Allan Corp reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,995 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 2.8% of William Allan Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at $18,352,000. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Paychex by 5.9% in the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 13,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Paychex by 220.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 117,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,410,000 after buying an additional 80,678 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 40,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after acquiring an additional 17,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 499,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $60,573,000 after acquiring an additional 3,724 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $145.71 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.59. The firm has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’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 owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 in the last quarter. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.