Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,012 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,458 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $2,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Paychex by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Paychex by 469.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $544,762.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 78,455 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,408.75. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PAYX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Paychex from $141.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Paychex Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $155.98 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.68. The firm has a market cap of $56.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.91. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.40 and a 52-week high of $158.37.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

About Paychex

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.