Tidal Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Tidal Investments LLC decreased its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,003 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,392 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $4,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management lifted its stake in Paychex by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,881 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.00.

Paychex Trading Down 0.3%

Paychex stock opened at $157.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.40 and a fifty-two week high of $158.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $147.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Company 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.

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