Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Position Cut by West Paces Advisors Inc.

West Paces Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 6.1 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $7.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.39. 5,163,966 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,930. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.09.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.