Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,386 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Paychex were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 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. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 42.0% during the 3rd 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. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 805.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.23.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total value of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $140.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.72 and a 52-week high of $150.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for 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 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Company 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.