High Falls Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

High Falls Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 526 shares during the quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc’s holdings in Paychex were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 343,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,887,000 after purchasing an additional 152,818 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 366.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,400,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Paychex by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $127.92. 1,657,882 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,853,641. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.27 and a 52-week high of $129.66. The firm has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

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

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PAYX shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,438 shares of company stock worth $18,185,292 over the last three months. 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.