Wellington Management Group LLP Has $5.25 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,014 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.62.

Paychex Stock Up 0.6 %

PAYX opened at $118.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.95. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.