Palisade Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Palisade Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second 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 increased its holdings in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, American National Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.92. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The company has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAYX. Barclays upped their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.