Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Sells 324 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Paychex by 366.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,400,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after buying an additional 579,136 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $125.22. 1,547,155 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,864,017. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $129.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $674,005.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 166,872 shares of company stock valued at $19,992,573 over the last 90 days. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Paychex

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.