Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Cut by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,063 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,717,000 after acquiring an additional 8,958 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Paychex by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 12,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $153.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $55.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.55.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% 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. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PAYX. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two 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.com, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.55.

About Paychex

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.