Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 3,247 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 3.0%, selling 3,247 shares and holding 105,886 shares worth approximately $16.34 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Paychex, with one sell rating and ten hold ratings, and an average target price of $150.20.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,886 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,247 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $16,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth $34,000. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 122.3% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $3.61 on Tuesday, hitting $134.99. 3,123,390 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.35 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.40.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.