Ingalls & Snyder LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC decreased its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Paychex during the second quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.53, for a total value of $1,865,924.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paychex has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Paychex stock opened at $123.00 on Monday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.09 and a 52 week high of $129.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $44.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.14% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, January 19th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Paychex’s payout ratio is currently 77.56%.

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.