Paychex, Inc. $PAYX Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 59.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44,568 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,333,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 3.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 47.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 156,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,790,000 after purchasing an additional 50,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $100.53 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $161.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.84.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. Paychex had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 25.84%.The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 104.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAYX shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Paychex from $116.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $106.38.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.