Janney Capital Management LLC Sells 25,541 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Janney Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 116,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,541 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $14,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PAYX. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Paychex by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PAYX. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total transaction of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.27, for a total transaction of $11,901,732.30. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Paychex Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,585,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,130,275. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The stock has a market cap of $42.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.94%.

About Paychex

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.