Janney Capital Management LLC Has $12.82 Million Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Janney Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 83,121 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,371 shares during the quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,275 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,717,000 after buying an additional 8,958 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Paychex by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 13,338 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,870,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Paychex by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,777 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $2.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $150.32. 2,910,138 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,911,045. 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 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $151.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.60.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's payout ratio is 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.