Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Has $5.15 Million Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 887 shares during the quarter. Paychex makes up 2.1% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Paychex by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,931,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,451,943,000 after buying an additional 170,453 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Paychex by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,331,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,849,000 after acquiring an additional 927,584 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,982,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,599,000 after acquiring an additional 62,739 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,797,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,975,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 102,768.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,537,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533,137 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Paychex Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.94 on Thursday, reaching $122.47. The company had a trading volume of 458,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,036. The firm has a market cap of $44.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $121.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.50.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 79.11%.

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.