Magnus Financial Group LLC Invests $251,000 in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 227.6% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total value of $1,106,714.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,162 shares of company stock worth $9,846,185. 11.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 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 issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.66 and a 200 day moving average of $125.89. 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 $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $144.17.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Paychex 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.