Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Holdings Lessened by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel lowered its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 284,798 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 29,873 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up approximately 3.0% of Willis Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel owned about 0.08% of Paychex worth $43,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Paychex by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,521,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,419,878,000 after acquiring an additional 174,817 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,905,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,772,544,000 after purchasing an additional 166,155 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,044,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,408,458,000 after buying an additional 519,761 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Paychex by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,339,463,000 after buying an additional 126,962 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Paychex by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,807,554 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $674,115,000 after buying an additional 694,651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Paychex Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $153.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,525,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,901,690. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $150.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.42. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $1.08 dividend. This is a boost from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.