MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Sells 2,177 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,660 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,177 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,971 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,616,000 after buying an additional 3,406 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $370,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $367,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Finally, GHE LLC raised its stake in Paychex by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 21,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.2%

Paychex stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.66. 1,993,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,924,002. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $159.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.59.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.