Marshall Financial Group LLC Sells 608 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Marshall Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 19.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 608 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Paychex by 26.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Paychex by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 41,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,717,000 after buying an additional 8,958 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $153.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.40 and a 12 month high of $161.24. The firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $151.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.47.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a boost from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.00%.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In other news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.25, for a total value of $544,762.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,709,408.75. The trade was a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAYX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.55.

Paychex Profile

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.