JGP Wealth Management LLC Has $12.04 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

JGP Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,012 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,419 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 1.6% of JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,760 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 62,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,782,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $159.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 292,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,996,075. The company has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $159.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.87. 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 (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. Paychex's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors 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 yield of 2.71%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.55.

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.