JPL Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

JPL Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,016 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,129 shares during the period. Paychex makes up 1.3% of JPL Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. JPL Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $3,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 97,526 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 446,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,878,940.89. The trade was a 17.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John B. Gibson sold 12,370 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.92, for a total transaction of $1,755,550.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 81,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,602,669.60. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,294,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,700. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $122.07 and a one year high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $53.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $150.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.46.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Paychex had a net margin of 29.75% and a return on equity of 45.01%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Paychex from $156.00 to $152.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.20.

Paychex 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.