Conning Inc. Sells 21,637 Shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Conning Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 260,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,637 shares during the quarter. Paychex comprises about 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Paychex were worth $36,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 988,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,636,000 after buying an additional 212,700 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in Paychex by 4.6% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,567,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,282,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 169.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Paychex by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Paychex by 91.1% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $146.74 on Friday. Paychex, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.72 and a 1-year high of $151.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $52.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.89.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a return on equity of 45.28% and a net margin of 32.02%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Paychex’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PAYX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Paychex in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Paychex from $133.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.