Dearborn Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners LLC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. by 28.9% during the first quarter, holding 7,986 shares valued at approximately $1.23 million after selling 3,248 shares.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently modified their holdings, with 83.47% of Paychex's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.93%, with a payout ratio of 94.53%.

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 28.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,986 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,248 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 110,853 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $78,215,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Paychex by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,309 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ:PAYX traded down $4.99 on Friday, reaching $139.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,235,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,156,836. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.07 and a 12-month high of $161.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.62.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.