SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 24.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 819 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PAYX. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Paychex by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,504,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,204,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,520 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth approximately $146,617,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Paychex by 229.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,630,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,456 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth approximately $115,494,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Paychex by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,386,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,141,000 after acquiring an additional 766,252 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Down 0.8 %

Paychex stock opened at $117.43 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $106.27 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.78.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total value of $11,901,732.30. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Paychex 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.