Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Purchases Shares of 2,620 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,849,000 after buying an additional 927,584 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after buying an additional 62,739 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after buying an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 102,768.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,359,000 after buying an additional 4,533,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 16,031 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.79, for a total transaction of $1,920,353.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $644,829.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX stock opened at $119.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.94. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $121.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.77.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.