Boston Trust Walden Corp Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,236 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,522 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in Paychex were worth $23,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,275 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,717,000 after acquiring an additional 8,958 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $982,000. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Paychex Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $150.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.63.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Paychex's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

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.

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