Albert D Mason Inc. Sells 189 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Albert D Mason Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for 1.5% of Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 7,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 3.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 3.2% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents 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. In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents 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 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,223 shares of company stock worth $10,592,156. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PAYX. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $141.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.50. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. The stock has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The firm 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 $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.