Choreo LLC Boosts Stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 54.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,400 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,938 shares during the period. Choreo LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $1.59 on Friday, reaching $147.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,294,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,700. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.07 and a 1 year high of $161.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% 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.

About Paychex

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.