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

Vista Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for about 1.2% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $4,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after purchasing an additional 174,817 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after buying an additional 166,155 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after buying an additional 519,761 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,339,463,000 after acquiring an additional 126,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Paychex by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $674,115,000 after acquiring an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.55.

Paychex Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Paychex stock opened at $153.68 on Tuesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a market cap of $55.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a PEG 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $151.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.55.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex 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.