Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 126 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased 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 buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

Paychex stock opened at $146.19 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $52.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.37.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction 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 $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Paychex Company 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.