Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 265 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paychex during the third quarter worth $34,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in Paychex by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Paychex during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PAYX. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Paychex from $122.00 to $121.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 19,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $2,454,755.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,452.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PAYX opened at $118.56 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a one year low of $106.27 and a one year high of $129.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.95.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.63% and a net margin of 32.03%. Paychex’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Paychex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.94%.

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.