Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,179 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 42.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This trade represents a 64.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PAYX opened at $139.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.86. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued 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 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.23.

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.