Conning Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,852 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 28,348 shares during the period. Paychex makes up about 1.3% of Conning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Conning Inc. owned about 0.06% of Paychex worth $35,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $184,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $177,899,000 after buying an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake 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 valued at $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.02. 1,539,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,958,640. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.91.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related 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 value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAYX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

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.