Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 6,445 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,681 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,445 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.4% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Paychex by 7.6% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,148 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.99. 1,294,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,404,700. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.07 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $150.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.51.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.01% and a net margin of 29.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,602,669.60. This trade represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex 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.