Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 18,274 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,102,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,274 shares during the period. Paychex accounts for approximately 2.1% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Paychex were worth $154,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Paychex by 286.0% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Paychex by 42.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Paychex by 152.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $139.41. The stock had a trading volume of 361,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,809,364. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.73. Paychex, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.72 and a fifty-two week high of $150.71. The firm has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 31.98% and a return on equity of 45.97%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Paychex’s payout ratio is 82.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 14,731 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.18, for a total value of $2,050,260.58. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,197.70. This trade represents a 50.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert L. Schrader sold 13,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.35, for a total transaction of $1,852,685.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,471,480.70. This trade represents a 42.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,174 shares of company stock worth $7,577,231. 11.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAYX. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.23.

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.