Centiva Capital LP Sells 13,836 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Centiva Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 63.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,836 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 231,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,097,000 after buying an additional 20,648 shares during the period. Arrowroot Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $214,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 117.9% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 16,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,878 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 1,619.6% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 103,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,828,000 after purchasing an additional 97,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $600,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $142.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.27. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The company has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 26,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.03, for a total transaction of $3,674,284.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,020.45. The trade was a 64.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

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.