First Financial Corp IN Reduces Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

First Financial Corp IN lessened its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 85.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Paychex were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Columbus Macro LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 1st quarter valued at $818,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 33,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,129,000 after purchasing an additional 5,770 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 168,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 7,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 578,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,077,000 after purchasing an additional 143,323 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX traded down $6.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,742,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,789,523. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.43 and its 200 day moving average is $122.09. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 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 issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PAYX shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America upped their target price on Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex presently 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.