Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Holdings Decreased by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,910 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,552 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,681 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,111,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 4.5% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,331 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $222,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 12.1% in the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 1.4% in the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 6,778 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on Paychex and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $143.29. 1,834,521 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,982,741. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.33 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.88.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other 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 transaction of $14,157,849.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.