Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. cut its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 227.6% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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. Insiders have sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $132.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.66. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Paychex from $121.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.