YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 6.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,805 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $151.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $54.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.79.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 45.30% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

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.