Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) CFO Robert L. Schrader Sells 13,015 Shares

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) 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 value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Paychex Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $144.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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%. Paychex’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.