Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 17.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,796,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its position in shares of Paychex by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Paychex by 34.8% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $143.98 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.72 and a twelve month high of $150.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 83.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,480.70. This represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,020.45. This represents a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,577,231 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.