Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 93,114 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 35.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,476 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 93,114 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $23,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on PAYX shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $158.19. 1,628,401 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,927,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.76. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $159.30.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Paychex's payout ratio is 90.00%.

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.