Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 22,710 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 47.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,928 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 22,710 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Paychex by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,936 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Paychex by 32.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 119,291 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,404,000 after buying an additional 29,320 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 15.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Paychex by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 581,529 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $81,542,000 after acquiring an additional 23,359 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Paychex by 122.1% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,032,000 after acquiring an additional 35,407 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.94. 3,849,840 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.76. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

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.