Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 369,134 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 86,749 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises 1.1% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.10% of Paychex worth $56,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Paychex by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Paychex Stock Down 1.8%

PAYX traded down $2.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $156.97. 1,487,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,907,437. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.40 and a 1 year high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex's dividend payout ratio is 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.55.

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.