Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 3,703 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,703 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $125.46 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $129.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.04. The firm has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PAYX shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.