Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is Confluence Investment Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,065,458 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 36,796 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 2.4% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.30% of Paychex worth $164,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of Paychex by 469.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $157.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,993,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,008. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $159.75. The company has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

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.