WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 101 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Paychex by 3.2% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 8.1% in the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 34,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Paychex by 10.6% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 118,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,540,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors boosted its position in Paychex by 1.2% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 32,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp purchased a new position in Paychex in the first quarter worth $1,327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $2.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $120.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 628,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,106. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.75 and a 200 day moving average of $121.46. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $129.70.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 8th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 83.94%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Martin Mucci sold 101,490 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 437,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,287,448.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of Paychex 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $670,452.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

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.