Summit Trail Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 52.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,914 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 286.0% during 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 period. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 227.6% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, American National Bank increased its stake in Paychex by 166.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6 %

PAYX stock opened at $145.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.21. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

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.