W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Sells 3,863 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 57,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,863 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.6% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.2% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $150.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $139.49 and a 200 day moving average of $129.42.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.58%.

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.