Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,052,210 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 247,087 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.57% of Paychex worth $316,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,419,878,000 after buying an additional 174,817 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,339,463,000 after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Paychex by 16.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Paychex by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,104,626 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $575,551,000 after buying an additional 208,130 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAYX. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Trading Down 1.4%

PAYX stock traded down $2.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $143.29. 1,910,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,388. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.17. Paychex, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.43 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

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. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

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

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.