Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 2.3% in the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 6.3% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 92 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 a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Paychex from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

Insider Activity

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

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $121.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $122.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.16. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.09 and a 1-year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.93.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 46.14%. 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 prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s payout ratio is 77.56%.

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

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.