Vista Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Vista Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 1.2% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

PAYX opened at $153.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $55.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $151.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.55.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related 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 transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.55.

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.