Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 431 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 15,561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 2,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its position in Paychex by 89.8% in the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 4,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 2,177 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 65.1% in the first quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after buying an additional 5,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,892,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. 3M restated an “initiates” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Paychex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 45,810 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total value of $5,724,417.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,474,208. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 45,810 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.96, for a total value of $5,724,417.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 19,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,474,208. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 20,249 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $2,433,727.31. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 86,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,352,685.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 221,916 shares of company stock valued at $26,789,753. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $120.54 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.09 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.91. The company has a market capitalization of $43.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The business services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97. Paychex had a net margin of 31.10% and a return on equity of 46.79%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.79%.

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.