Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY Decreases Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY decreased its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 624 shares during the period. Paychex makes up approximately 1.0% of Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Paychex were worth $7,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,887,000 after acquiring an additional 152,818 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at $1,229,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 218.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.56. The company had a trading volume of 6,556,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,830. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $106.27 and a 12-month high of $129.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.