Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Sells 96 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised 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 last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 227.6% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

PAYX opened at $139.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.99. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.98 and a twelve month high of $144.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 in the last ninety days. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

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.