Weaver Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after buying an additional 2,373,894 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508,681 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,676,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $205,877,000 after purchasing an additional 395,343 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.77.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $141.43 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $134.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.60. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.27 and a 1 year high of $144.17. 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 market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paychex news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total transaction of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,223 shares of company stock worth $10,592,156 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.