Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $1,229,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Paychex by 218.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 680,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,794,000 after acquiring an additional 466,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAYX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Paychex Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $121.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.16. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.09 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Paychex announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.56%.

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.