Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Sells 624 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lessened its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up approximately 1.0% of Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAYX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $118.56. 6,556,909 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,064,830. The company has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.98. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.27 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc provides integrated human capital management solutions for human resources (HR), payroll, benefits, 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.