Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires Shares of 18,081 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 18,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,426,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 79.4% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 6.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,977,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 8.1% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 13,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.0% in the second quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 49,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,905,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network increased its position in Paychex by 77.8% during the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 3,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $145.45 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.72 and a 12 month high of $150.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.83.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’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 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 approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.