Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 14.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,162 shares of company stock worth $9,846,185. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $142.35 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.64. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $142.73. The company has a market capitalization of $51.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.94%.

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.