Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Decreased by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC lowered its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 254,920 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,355 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up approximately 4.8% of Parthenon LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Parthenon LLC owned about 0.07% of Paychex worth $39,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Paychex in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $144.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $118.58 and a one year high of $161.24. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $151.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS 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 prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. This trade represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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