Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Trimmed by Lantz Financial LLC

Lantz Financial LLC cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Paychex comprises approximately 0.8% of Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PAYX. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $134.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.37 and a 200-day moving average of $123.18. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $134.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

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.