Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Dillon & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Dillon & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. by 7.5%, selling 3,950 shares to own a total of 48,881 shares, valued at approximately $7.53 million.
• Hedge funds like Summit Wealth Partners LLC and King Wealth Management Group have increased their stakes in Paychex during the first quarter, with institutional investors owning approximately 83.47% of the stock.
• Paychex announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, representing a 3.1% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for July 21st.

Dillon & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,881 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,950 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for about 1.1% of Dillon & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Dillon & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Summit Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.4% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,623 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 2.4% in the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in Paychex by 4.7% in the first quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Paychex by 12.1% in the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total value of $1,755,550.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.17, for a total value of $14,157,849.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at $64,878,940.89. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $141.19 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.00 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $50.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.45.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 94.53%.

About Paychex

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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