CRA Financial Services LLC Sells 400 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

CRA Financial Services LLC lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYXFree Report) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $774,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 189.9% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 7,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $138.89 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.48.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYXGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on PAYX

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.53, for a total value of $1,514,445.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,663,199.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,360,630 over the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)

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