Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Has $2.27 Million Holdings in Paychex, Inc. $PAYX

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Paychex in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Paychex from $148.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Paychex from $158.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $145.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PAYX opened at $128.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.13 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The stock has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

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.