Magnus Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 1,868 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Magnus Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,541,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,750,472,000 after buying an additional 123,268 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 12.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,356,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $279,351,000 after buying an additional 384,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $267,695,000 after buying an additional 793,468 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.77.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. 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 at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,162 shares of company stock valued at $9,846,185. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $142.28 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $132.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one 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.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

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.