Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Sells 138 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $5,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Rogco LP raised its position in shares of Paychex by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dohj LLC raised its position in shares of Paychex by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 3,242 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PAYX traded up $0.64 on Tuesday, reaching $117.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 773,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,173. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.27 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.38 and a 200-day moving average of $121.90.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.46.

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.