Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,563,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 38,655.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 799,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,340,000 after buying an additional 797,843 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Paychex by 85.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX opened at $140.33 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $144.17. The firm has a market cap of $50.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total value of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,608 shares of company stock valued at $9,384,512 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.