Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 394,532 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,070,548 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 394,532 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 2.52% of Paychex worth $1,399,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $184,216,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 20,236.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,153,089 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $177,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,419 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,534,145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $215,164,000 after buying an additional 672,010 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,355,713 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $189,746,000 after buying an additional 628,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex 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 transaction, the director directly owned 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.11.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.02. 1,539,975 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,960,138. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $152.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.53%.

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.