Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Stock Holdings Lowered by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAYX. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Paychex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Paychex by 91.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Paychex from $126.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Paychex from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Paychex from $134.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Insider Transactions at Paychex

In related news, VP Mark Anthony Bottini sold 15,481 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,966,625.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.50% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ PAYX traded up $0.65 on Thursday, hitting $122.18. 253,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.94. Paychex, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $129.70.

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 given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.11%.

Paychex announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 19th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.