Allworth Financial LP Sells 1,680 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Allworth Financial LP cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 15.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,680 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased 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 period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.0 %

PAYX stock opened at $140.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.28 and a 200 day moving average of $126.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 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. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,608 shares of company stock worth $9,384,512. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

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.