Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Sells 518 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $141.76 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71. The stock has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.49 and its 200 day moving average is $129.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value 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 $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 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last three months. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

About Paychex

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.