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

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 0.57% of Paychex worth $316,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

Paychex stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $145.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,514,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,976,485. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.88. 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's 50-day moving average price is $152.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.13. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.53%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group lowered their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.