Callahan Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Callahan Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,386 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,408 shares during the period. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $11,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,215,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 107.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 927,590 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $130,066,000 after buying an additional 479,488 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

PAYX stock traded down $2.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $143.29. 1,910,327 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,388. The company has a market cap of $51.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.43 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $152.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.16. 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were 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 directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

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.