Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,324 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 1.8% in the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.2% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 0.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. The trade was a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,197.70. This represents a 50.37 % 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock opened at $144.46 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $140.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.04. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.72 and a 12-month high of $150.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.99.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. 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.