NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC Sells 599 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. Paychex comprises about 0.4% of NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. NorthLanding Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $152.52 on Wednesday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $115.40 and a one year high of $161.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $151.59 and a 200 day moving average of $147.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $54.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.92.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 45.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s payout ratio is 90.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAYX. Barclays boosted their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paychex

In other Paychex news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), 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.