MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,367 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,556 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,367 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for 1.3% of MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $9,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,612 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the first quarter worth $250,000. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.3% in the first quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 47,940 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,396,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Paychex by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,697 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Paychex by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,699 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Barclays set a $155.00 price target on shares of Paychex and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Paychex in a report on Thursday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $140.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup set a $158.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.20.

Paychex Stock Down 0.4%

Paychex stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $145.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,792,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,978,184. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $152.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.57 and a 12-month high of $161.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Paychex's payout ratio is 94.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 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. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

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.