SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 42.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,969 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,980 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAYX. UBS Group raised their price target on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 0.3%

PAYX traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $153.68. 1,665,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,903,770. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $151.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.50. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.40 and a 1-year high of $161.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

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.