EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Sells 800 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings in Paychex were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PAYX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth raised its position in Paychex by 469.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In related news, Director Joseph M. Velli sold 3,650 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $544,762.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $156.22 on Thursday. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $158.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PAYX. Citigroup upped their price target on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cfra Research raised Paychex to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

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.