Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 114,524 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 444,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 114,524 shares during the period. Paychex makes up 1.0% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.12% of Paychex worth $59,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Paychex by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,878,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,853,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,894 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Paychex by 155.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,478,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,338,000 after buying an additional 1,508,681 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex in the first quarter valued at about $146,617,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Paychex by 57.2% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,179,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $267,695,000 after acquiring an additional 793,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $154,263,000 after purchasing an additional 579,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAYX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $118.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Paychex from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Paychex from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.77.

Paychex Trading Up 1.9 %

PAYX traded up $2.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $141.49. 296,712 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,809,423. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.59 and its 200 day moving average is $125.50. Paychex, Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.27 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.97% and a net margin of 31.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at $676,104.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 8,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.60, for a total transaction of $1,106,714.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 79,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,793,075.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 74,162 shares of company stock worth $9,846,185. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company 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.