Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Paychex were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Paychex by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgepath Capital Management LLC now owns 37,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,049,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 9.3% in the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,792,000 after purchasing an additional 97,867 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 5.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 3.6% during the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 12,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,661,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,616,000 after buying an additional 4,521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.07 on Monday, reaching $140.40. The company had a trading volume of 56,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,780,656. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $134.98 and a 200-day moving average of $126.84. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

About Paychex

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.