PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $93.25 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 694,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $93,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 21.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,529,000 after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at about $346,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $331,000. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Paychex by 31.5% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 16,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,850 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 138.3% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % 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. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.57. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.