Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 156.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,438 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 110,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,522,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Paychex by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 378,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,404,000 after purchasing an additional 25,852 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Paychex by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 405,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,745,000 after purchasing an additional 59,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 10,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities 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, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total value of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the firm’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 owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.53 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.72. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.99. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.72 and a 1 year high of $150.71.

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 return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Paychex’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 83.58%.

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.