Monumental Financial Group Inc. Has $1.17 Million Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Monumental Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. Monumental Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Paychex by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523,520 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $146,617,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Paychex by 229.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,456 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $115,494,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Paychex by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,386,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $165,141,000 after acquiring an additional 766,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,556,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,830. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $122.38 and a 200 day moving average of $121.98. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

Paychex Company Profile

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.