United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $2.30 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 747 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $154,263,000 after buying an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Paychex by 4.9% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Paychex by 5.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,522,000 after acquiring an additional 6,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter worth about $2,796,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $1.13 on Thursday, reaching $140.26. 199,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,779,686. The company’s 50 day moving average is $135.90 and its 200-day moving average is $127.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 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 $144.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

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.