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

Fenimore Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 417,429 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,958 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 1.4% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned about 0.12% of Paychex worth $64,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,419,878,000 after buying an additional 174,817 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 166,155 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Paychex by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,408,458,000 after acquiring an additional 519,761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,339,463,000 after purchasing an additional 126,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew 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 worth $674,115,000 after purchasing an additional 694,651 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $154.04. 1,653,460 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,899,301. The company has a market capitalization of $55.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $161.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $150.55 and its 200-day moving average is $147.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. 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. Paychex's payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

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.