MAI Capital Management Sells 1,809 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MAI Capital Management lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,809 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.0% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 207,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 962,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $129,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,099,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 3.7% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth $465,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $141.83 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.72 and a 52 week high of $150.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.65. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.