Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Covenant Partners LLC

Covenant Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the period. Paychex makes up 0.5% of Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Monument Capital Management increased its holdings in Paychex by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PAYX. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $149.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 81.67%.

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.