Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $23.67 Million Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 53.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 177,427 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $23,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. This represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $153.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $150.81 and a 200-day moving average of $147.42. Paychex, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.40 and a 12-month high of $161.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Paychex’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.55.

About Paychex

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.