Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is Paradiem LLC's 7th Largest Position

Paradiem LLC cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,345 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,406 shares during the quarter. Paychex accounts for approximately 3.5% of Paradiem LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Paradiem LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $12,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded up $2.13 on Monday, hitting $151.25. 2,337,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,913,743. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.40 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PAYX. Barclays upped their price objective on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

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.