Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $174,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, American National Bank grew its stake in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $135.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.74 and a 200-day moving average of $123.51. The company has a market cap of $48.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick 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 $137.40.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 value of $1,807,281.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock valued at $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Company 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.